5) Through the Tales
by IlaGolden
Summary: This is the fifth book in the Tales Saga. The Tales Saga is an alternate version of Yu-Gi-Oh which rewrites the story from the end of Battle City onwards. Its been a month since his birth and everyone seems to have bonded with baby Crovell except his father. But with the Duite quickly approaching there are those looking to turn Joey's insecurities into something far more sinister.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The baby stirred slightly as a heavy sigh escaped her lips. She felt the same about him now as she had when he'd been born a month ago. It wasn't his fault. He couldn't help who he was and what he represented, but that still didn't stop her feeling the way she did.

'He's got his father's nose, don't you think?'

The sound of his voice made her jump. She glanced up to see Covo leant against the doorframe watching her. Covo's addition to the household had initially filled her with mixed feelings and a vague plot to focus Ahna's attention on him so she would forget Joey existed. In the days which had passed since then she'd quickly regretted ever thinking of him as a pawn. Covo had a strange sense of humour, but he never allowed it to interfere with his duties, which he took seriously despite the way in he'd fallen into the position. He was also easy to talk to and generous enough with his time to really listen to what you had to say, even if it didn't always make sense. He was also the most open and honest person Mai had ever met, but something bothered her about him, she just wasn't quite sure what it was...

'Maybe,' she found herself studying the baby for a moment, 'but I don't see it.'

'So what do you see?' Covo crossed the room towards the crib, positioning himself opposite Mai as he did.

'His mother,' she smiled sadly, 'and the fact that he's not mine.'

'I know what you mean,' Covo rested his head on his arms as he stared down at the infant. 'But every time I see Ahna and Veronie together I know love didn't have a hand in making this child. He looks at her the same way he looks at Catilin, so it's a wonder anyone believed they were a couple to begin with. There's just... nothing there.'

'It still doesn't erase the fact he almost married her and now they have a child together.'

'I know, but in a weird kind of way I'm glad Ahna did the things she did back then.'

'Oh?'

'Well if she hadn't she might never have ended up in the Temple of Mov and then I would never have met her,' Covo's eyes flicked up towards Mai. 'I know Ahna's past is a little bit... chequered to say the least, but... I look at her and all I can see is the woman I've fallen in love with.' He gave an embarrassed little laugh. 'Sorry, I'm being soppy and weird, aren't I?'

'No,' Mai shook her head.

'And hey, no relationships perfect right?'

'True, but I think this little one might well be,' she gazed back down at the child. 'I mean, I've seen what he can do already and it's pretty scary.'

'I don't think the level of someone's power is a reflection of their perfection,' Covo laughed again. 'Okay the soppiness might have been forgivable, but even you have to admit that rhyming was pretty damn terrible.'

'Yeah, it was,' Mai laughed, before studying him thoughtfully for a moment. 'Hey Covo can I ask you a potentially stupid question?'

'Sure, maybe I can give you a potentially stupid answer to go with it,' his face filled with a stupid grin.

'Ha, ha, I'm being serious here. I mean, I would ask Joey but... Well he's not here right now and you are.'

'Wow Mai, you really know how to make a guy feel appreciated,' Covo poked his tongue out at her. 'So what's your question?'

'Well... Joey and Ahna are both Silkoneons, which means Crovell is a Silkoneon too, right?'

'_Right_.'

'And Silkoneons all have Sintoys, like Joey's is a wolf and Ahna's is a cat,' Mai pressed her lips together, 'so... what will Crovell's be? I mean, will he inherit a wolf from Joey or...'

'Right at this moment in time, honestly, he could be anything,' Covo folded his arms as he cut her off. 'Bird, horse, dear, rabbit, monkey, elephant, just name an animal and right now he could be it.'

'I don't understand,' Mai frowned, 'I thought Sintoys were passed down through family lines. Joey told me every single head of the Lutoni family, bar maybe one or two, have been wolves, so how can you tell me the child could be anything?'

'Because the whole Sintoy thing is a little more... complicated than even most Silkoneons give it credit for,' Covo pulled a face. 'You're right; in ninety percent of cases a child will inherit the same Sintoy line as one or other parent. Which theoretically means little Crovell here has a forty-five percent chance of being a cat and a forty-five percent chance of being a wolf, with only a ten percent chance of being anything else. _Theoretically_. The fact that he's a first born Lutoni skews the odds slightly. The Lutoni Sintoy line is dominant because, as you pointed out, most head Lutonis have been wolves and Veronie is descended from them. The cat might be the oldest and most traditional form of Sintoy in the Crovell line, but they've frequently had deviations meaning in truth there's a fifty percent chance the baby will inherit the Lutoni wolf, a thirty percent chance he'll get the Crovell cat and a twenty percent chance he could be anything else.'

'Err... okay...' Mai found herself staring at him.

'I mentioned before I was a bit of a geek, right,' Covo's cheeks flamed red for a moment. 'Look, odds are Crovell will be a wolf, but it will be a while before we know for sure.'

'How long exactly?'

'Normally a child's Sintoy will reveal itself when a child is about three, but since Crovell's no ordinary child it will be whenever he's ready for us to know what it is, I guess.'

'I see,' Mai sighed for a moment, before studying Covo. 'Hey, what's your family's traditional Sintoy then?'

'My family are a little unusual in that regard,' Covo's face filled with a strange smile, 'technically we have two, but people only really know us for one of them.'

'Why is that?'

'It's complicated and I'd really rather not get into it,' he shifted uncomfortably.

'So what two animals are your family's traditional Sintoys then?'

'Rabbits and deer.'

'And which do people know you for?'

'The rabbits,' his voice was strangely quiet, 'and lucky me I'm a deer. The first stag to be the oldest...' his voice trailed.

'What?'

'What?' Covo blinked up at her.

'I...' she hesitated; in all honesty she didn't know Covo well enough to pry. 'Do we know when people will get to vote for changing the law on marrying Standings yet?' Mai forced a smile onto her face.

'It's to be held the day after the Duite,' Covo smiled, 'and don't worry I'm pretty confident it'll go in your favour. I mean, we were born and raised around Standing so Veronie can't be the only one who's likely to lose his heart to one. And since he's definitely lost his heart to you I'm pretty certain he's not going to let this matter drop even if everyone does vote against it.'

'It makes me kind of nervous though, knowing my future with Joey is in the hands of other people.'

'It's not like that and you know it,' Covo shook his head, 'but if you don't mind I've got a few things is should be getting on with now.'

'Of course,' Mai nodded.

'You should worry a little less Mai,' Covo shot her a sympathetic look as he left the room, 'Veronie is your soul mate and one silly little vote's not going to change that.'

* * *

'Did anyone remember to invite Tristan this time?' Duke's eyes turned over the inside of the Kame Game shop as they waited for Yugi. 'I mean, I know he's really hot and cold with us at the moment, but he does get really narky if we completely forget to invite him. Remember when he found out we went bowling without him last week?'

'He gets narky if we _do_ remember to invite him,' Téa rolled her eyes, 'like you said he's just so hot and cold with us at the moment. But I think Yugi called him after he got off the phone to me.'

'But you were organising this little trip, so shouldn't _you_ have called Tristan?' Duke cocked an eyebrow at her.

'He chooses to ignore my calls,' Téa shook her head and sighed. 'You know if I knew what I'd done to offend him so badly I would apologise for it, but...'

'I don't think you've _done_ anything Téa, I just think he finds you difficult to deal with after everything he's been through.'

'Why?'

'Because you're the only one who hasn't gone through any kind of change, I guess,' Duke shrugged. 'I don't know, he was ranting to me about how you still act like things are the way they used to be when _you're_ the only one who's the same. It was part of the same rant he gave about the bowling, so I tuned out after a while.'

'Turned out of what?' Yugi's voice sounded from the direction of the stairwell.

'One of Tristan's rants,' he rolled his eyes, 'what else.'

'Yeah, those things are just amazingly fun, aren't they,' Yugi smirked.

'It's a pity Tristan doesn't like Téa enough to give her one of her own,' Duke teased, 'I mean, she was just saying how left out she felt.'

'Well she can always takeover during my next one,' Yugi laughed.

'Alright guys, enough with the teasing already,' Téa shook her head, 'it's dry and for once the sun is giving out a little bit of warmth, so I, for one, would like to make the most of the day.'

'By going to the beach in the middle of winter,' Duke smirked, 'I must be mad for agreeing to this.'

'You don't have to come if you don't want to you know,' Téa smirked.

'I know, but it's not like I had anything better to do.'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

He felt the air on the back of his neck move as the ball flew across the room for the third time in as many minutes. Knowing they were deliberately trying to wind him up, he kept his eyes focused on the screen in front of him. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of acknowledging them. They didn't have to be here; he did. A minute passed, marked by another whirring of air behind him, followed by a quite slap as the ball landed in the recipient's hands.

This wasn't the first time in the last couple of weeks they'd played this game with him. It was as if the pair could only amuse themselves by seeing how long it took for them to wind him up. If it was possible for him to travel back in time and tell his recently passed self the solution to his problems was not to bring the two people he felt bad about neglecting together, then he would have. Since it wasn't possible to do that he either had to learn not to rise to their games or learn to feel less jealous at the notion of the two of them spending increasingly more time together.

In the following five or six minutes the ball travelled through the air several more times. On what must have been the tenth flight he somewhat automatically lifted his hand up to catch the ball. He placed it down on his desk between the keyboard and the screen, uncertain as to whether or not he'd rather the two of them continued to stay. The jangling noise to his right, followed by the sharper whirring of a disk flying through the air was almost enough to make him sigh with impatience. When it crashed into the wall a couple of minutes later he realised he had had just about all he could take of their games.

'No one's forcing either one of you to be here,' his eyes flickered between the two of them, 'I told you I had work to get on with and I wasn't kidding, so no amount of you two hanging around here pissing me off is going to change that.'

Both of them did their best to suppress smirks, which made him want to roll his eyes, groan and tell the two of them they couldn't associate with each other anymore all at the same time. He knew it was stupid and he hated himself for feeling this way, but he was jealous. To make matters worse he wasn't even sure what it was he was jealous of.

The two of them made their way towards the door; just as they reached it he grabbed the ball from the desk and tossed it towards the older of his two would be tormentors.

'Thanks,' the guy caught it effortlessly, before staring down at it for a few moments.

'Whatever, just leave already, would you?'

'Does that mean my dinner invites been knocked back?'

'That depends on whether or not I can catch up on all this work you two were trying so hard to distract me from.'

'We'll see you at eight then,' and with that the pair of them left, finally leaving him alone.

* * *

Mokuba knew he shouldn't feel proud about the way they'd just been winding his brother up, but he couldn't help it. There was something too enjoyable about it and from the way Tristan was still smirking to himself, Mokuba was pretty certain he wasn't the only one who thought so.

'It's nice seeing you having fun again,' the words were out of Mokuba's mouth before he could stop them, 'I mean...'

'It's okay,' Tristan shrugged as they entered the car park, 'I feel the same. It's nice not to have the weight of unknown evils pressing me down all the time. It makes it easier to deal with other things.'

'Like the counselling?'

'Can't we go one day without bringing up the _C_ word,' he rolled his eyes. 'It makes it a little hard to remain in a good mood when you're reminding me of my problems every five minutes.'

'I'm sorry it's just...'

'Seto hooked us up so you could keep an eye on me and I could fill in for his brotherly duties,' Tristan detached the two helmets from his Honda CBRF 600 and passed one to Mokuba. 'But, honestly Mokuba, I'm a doing a lot better than I was. Hell even the shrink thinks I could start winding sessions up pretty soon, so I wish you Kaiba boys would stop with the over parenting. Because, trust me, I get enough of it at home.'

'Sorry.'

'Look, its fine. So where do you want to go?'

'Burger World?' Mokuba fastened tightened the helmet strap and waited till Tristan was ready for him to get on the bike.

'I'm guessing that means you're hungry,' Tristan pulled the bike out of the space and waited for Mokuba to get on.

'Yeah, just a bit.'

'Burger World it is then. You ready?'

'Yeah.'

'Then let's go.'

* * *

'I thought you didn't call meetings of the Wen without all the Wen present,' Ni's black armour glinted as he entered the chamber. 'But from my count this would be... what... the third of the fourth now?'

'You were invited every single time and failed to show,' Du glared at him, 'that's not a failing on our part.'

'I'm sure you'd love for me to believe that uncle,' Ni folded his arms, 'just like I'm sure you want me to believe you have as much intention on helping them solve our mutual little... _problem _as much as I do.'

'What are you trying to say?'

'Mov,' his tone was as simple and concise as the word.

'My daughter acts by a will of her own,' Du met Ni's gaze, 'her decisions have nothing to do with me, just like your wife's have nothing to do with you.'

'Yes, but I at least have the decency to punish my wife for her transgression,' he strolled towards his chair and took a seat, 'last I checked Mov received no discipline from you.'

'If all you're going to do is insult me then you can leave right now,' Du rose to his feet and pointed towards the door.

'And let you continue yet another meeting of the Wen without me,' Ni wagged his finger, 'I don't think so uncle. If I do that then we may never solve this little problem of ours. After all, we're running out of time, aren't we?'

Du made a noise of disapproval before sitting himself back down again. For a few moments there was silence.

'So,' Ni's voice was calm, 'what exactly have my elders been plotting in my absence?'

'We have a viable plan,' Sta folded his arms, 'but we only have one shot at pulling it off.'

'And if you fail?'

'Then we fail.'

'If that's your level of determination I don't know why I bothered coming,' Ni rose from his seat again.

'You came because you know you don't have a viable plan of your own,' Sta's voice held Ni in place, 'and you want to sit and watch ours play out.'

* * *

They'd only been at the beach for a few minutes when Duke suddenly found himself in a dimly lit little bedchamber. He'd been here enough times before not to need to examine his surroundings because he could have told you the location and position of every single sheep on the deep blue curtains which hung either side of the window seat.

So instead of studying his surroundings he allowed himself to be pulled towards the crib in the centre a couple of feet away from the end of the room's full size bed. He leant over the edge and grinned down at the infant inside, before carefully lifting him out.

'We've really got to stop meeting like this; you're Daddy's starting to believe you like me more than him.'

The baby chirped happily and Duke couldn't help but laugh.

'I guess you're right, if I spent the first few hours of my life with someone I'd be pretty fond of them too.' He gentle jiggled the baby from side to side. 'So little Crovell, why did you bring me here?'

'You know he can't answer you right?'

The sound of his voice made him jump, before filling Duke's entire being with a strange feeling of guilt. With an embarrassed look pulling its way across his face he lifted his eyes to meet with his friend's.

'Joey, I was just…'

'Leaving I hope,' Joey's tone was as tight as his expression.

'Hey look, I know I've been dropping in like this a lot lately, but it's not like I can help it,' he squirmed. 'If you hate it so much, speak to _your_ son about it.'

'That's right Duke, he is _my_ son. Mine, not yours. So stop pretending to be his father and hand him over.'


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Crovell had started crying almost as soon as Joey had used his powers to send Duke home. It made an unavoidable groan escape him as he stared down at his son in despair.

'Why do you always do that? What am I doing wrong?'

'You're not doing anything wrong Joey,' the sound of Mai's voice made him look up, 'he's probably just hungry.'

'Every time I pick him up?'

'Well he is your child after all.'

'I know you're trying to make me feel better here but, let's face it, Crovell hates me'

'He doesn't hate you.'

'Yes he does. Why else would he summon Duke here every chance he gets?' Joey gave a heavy sigh. 'Clearly he's trying to tell me I'm doing something wrong.'

'Maybe it's just the way you're holding him,' Mai held out her hands. 'Look, give him here.'

Joey handed her the baby and almost as soon as he did Crovell stopped crying. It made Joey's insides crush with the same disappointing emotions they filled with every time Crovell brought Duke to the Southern Palace.

'See, he even likes you more than he likes me,' Joey lowered his gaze. 'I have to face up to the truth here, my own son hates me.'

'You're being too hard on yourself,' Mai shook her head. 'No one said parenthood would be easy and you never even got the chance to prepare for it.'

'Yeah, but you're doing fine with him and you're not even his mother,' he perched on the end of the bed and tried his hardest to keep the tremor out of his voice. 'He hates me Mai and there's nothing I can do about it.'

'You could try spending a little more time with him you know.' Mai joined him on the bed. 'In the month since he's been born you've spent the grand total of a day in his company. I've given him more time than that and, as you said, I'm not even his mother.'

'Civilisations don't govern themselves Mai.'

'Yes, but it's not as if the others wouldn't understand you taking a few weeks out. Kimotay and Timotee aren't complete idiots and you should have a little more faith in Catilin's ability to rule. She's not the same mixed up little girl she was when you guys first moved to Sil.'

'How can you ask me to take a few weeks out like it's nothing?' Joey stared at her. 'I haven't taken more than a few days out since I got here.'

'Exactly,' Mai half smirked at him, 'so you're more than due a little break. I mean, weren't you the one who told me Lutoni's normally take a backseat? Well take the backseat for a little while, the world won't fall apart without you, you know.'

'Won't it?'

'Of course it won't. I'm sure even the First would agree with me on that one.'

'Maybe,' Joey chewed his lower lip, 'and I know I should have faith in the others, but I've worked so hard at trying to keep everything together; I don't know if what I've built is strong enough to support itself without me.'

'Have a little faith Joey.'

A sad smile filled his face as his eyes met with her. For a moment he suddenly knew every single reason why he was in love with her. Then his eyes lowered towards Crovell and he felt a strange pang of guilt run through him.

'This should have been your child Mai, I'm sorry.'

'Don't be. I mean, I'm not saying this situation is easy for me, but... Well I love you and Crovell is a part of the package that comes with you so I've no choice but to love him too. And it's not as though he asked for you and Ahna to be his parents,' Mai appeared to blink back a few tears as she got up from the bed and forced a smile onto her face. 'Ahna asked me to look after Crovell for her today, so I'm taking him to the market with me, want to come along?'

'I can't,' he sighed, 'I'm supposed to help organise the veron celebrations for the Duite today.'

'Can't someone else fill in?'

'Sorry Mai,' he shook his head, 'but with Sta as one of my patrons, it's my duty to be involved. Maybe some other time.'

'Sure, some other time,' her voice sounded strangely cool, 'and meanwhile the rest of the world can bond with your son, because at this rate you never will.'

* * *

Struggling slightly, Mai managed to pull the pram through the door of a small jewellery shop. She was instantly hit by the rich smell of incense and the mellow melodies of ethnic music. The shop itself was a comfortable size, with its display cases filled with a range of jewellery and other more decretive items ranging from your typical high street jewellers selection to your weird and wonderful market place oddities. The massive range was what had drawn Mai to the shop in the first place, but it was the warmth of the shop owner herself which kept Mai coming back time and time again.

'Hi Mai,' the richly tanned girl with sleek, long black hair and eyes the colour of chestnuts smiled at her from across the counter.

'Hey Nayta,' Mai smiled back.

Nayta was barely eighteen, yet she oozed confidence with every unique fibre of her being. And she most definitely was unique. Mai might not have pressed much about Nayta's home life before she'd come to live on Sil, but if she had to guess she'd have put her in some kind of eccentric hippie commune or vibrant gypsy camp. Her sense of dress supported either theory, but Mai really didn't care either way. From the start Nayta had just accepted her for who she was and Mai felt honour bound to give her the same courtesy.

'I was hoping to see you today,' Nayta's movements were almost dance like as she moved from the counter towards Mai, 'and just who is this little one?' She cooed into the pram.

'This would be Crovell.'

'Veronie's little one,' she clapped her hands together, 'isn't he just adorable. Uh...' her eyes shifted embarrassedly up to Mai, 'sorry.'

'It's alright,' Mai laughed, 'he is very cute.'

'So is this a favour to Veronie then?'

'Ahna actually.'

'I see. So are you two getting on better now?'

'Things aren't easy,' she sighed, 'but what can I do?'

'You're more understanding than I would be; people really don't give you enough credit, you know that Mai.' She stared back down at the baby and frowned. 'You know he's kinda big for a premo, exactly how early was he?'

'Um…' Mai felt exposed, like Nayta had just caught her with her hand in the cookie jar, 'you know I can't really remember.'

For a moment a deep frown appeared on Nayta's face. Then she shrugged and smiled as her eyes lit up almost mischievously.

'Stay right here,' she moved towards the back of the shop, 'I'll be right back.'

She disappeared through the door behind the counter. When she returned a few moments later she was holding a small pendent on a black cord of string. The pendent itself was a solid cylinder, approximately an inch long and a centimetre in diameter, but the colouring was rather unusual. The bottom half of it was a mix of orange and red, whereas the top half was a mix of silver and pink.

'What is it?' Mai stared at it in fascination.

'It's a Matra,' her eyes flicked up towards Mai for a moment as she fastened the pendent around Crovell's neck. 'Odraians traditionally give them to children under the age of eleven to protect them during Duite.'

'Jo… err… Veronie never mentioned anything about that.'

'I did say it was an Odraian tradition Mai,' she laughed. 'Just like freezing a child's powers until they reach eleven. Silkoneons don't go in for either one, but then again, I'm not Silkoneon.'

'So explain this tradition to me,' Mai leant towards her, suddenly curious.

'Well as you know, Duite is the celebration of the solar eclipse. Odraians and Silkoneons see it as reminder of the constant battle that rages between Du and Sta for control over the sky. For a brief time during an eclipse, Sta has control or partial control, depending on how full the eclipse is, of the sky during the day.' She tilted her head thoughtfully to one side. 'We believe that during the eclipse a great battle takes place between the two brothers, as Du fights back for control over his daylight kingdom. The Matra is believed to protect the powerless Odraian children against any stray attacks made by the two gods. See,' she gentle held up the pendent lying on Crovell's chest, 'the lower half protects against Du and the top half against Sta.'

'So why don't Silkoneons give Matras to their children?'

'Because they allow their children to use their powers from birth.'

'Okay,' Mai's eyes met with Nayta's, 'so how much is it? The pendent I mean.'

'Oh, I'm not going to charge you for it Mai,' she smiled sweetly up at her, 'it's a gift; from me, to Crovell.'


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Tristan closed the front door to his parents' house as quietly as possible. It wasn't that he didn't want them to know he'd been there; he just didn't want to deal with them right now. It was easier for him if he could just drop off his things, repack his overnight bag and leave without them asking him how he was or... anything. He didn't like them fussing and drawing attention to the fact he had problems every five minutes. It made it difficult for him to feel normal and right now he needed to feel normal; it was the only way he was ever really going to learn to deal with himself.

Quickly and efficiently he loaded his dirty laundry into the washing machine and was just about to make his way out of the laundry room when she appeared in the doorway, nearly making him jump out of his skin in the process.

'What the hell are you doing here Téa?' He glared at her.

'Your mum let me in,' she folded her arms, 'I felt like we needed to talk. Was that a new bike you pulled up on outside?'

'No, I just upgraded my old bike a little whilst I was away.'

'Whilst you were in the psychiatric hospital you mean.' Téa's gaze narrowed on him. 'They let you do things like that in there?'

'They like it if you have projects and stuff if that's what you mean,' Tristan shrugged, 'anything to make you feel _normal_, whatever that's supposed to mean.'

'I see, sorry.' Téa shifted her gaze away. 'Your mum said you've been spending a lot of time with the Kaibas, is that true?'

'I don't see how it's any of your business, but yes, I have,' he shrugged. 'What of it?'

'Don't you think it's a little weird? I mean, Kaiba's not exactly _friend_ material.'

'And you would know, right?' Tristan felt a spike of anger run through him. 'Because you know exactly what friends should be, right? You're the living expert on friendship and whatever you say has to be believed automatically by everyone, right?'

'Well... no, it's just...'

'Look I know Seto's not going to win any friendly, sunshiny friendship awards anytime soon, but he at least understands what I need right now, which is more than I can say for you.'

'And what is it you need; some jerk who spends half his time insulting you and your friends?'

'He doesn't insult me.'

'But he does insult the rest of us?' Téa cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Either that means you agree with what he says, in which case I don't know why you bother with the rest of us anymore, or...'

'Or what?'

'Or maybe you're just willing to put up with Kaiba's bad attitude because it means spending time with him.'

Téa was so close to hitting a nerve it wasn't even funny. Tristan found himself sucking a deep breath in and gritting his teeth just to stop himself from overreacting.

'Get out,' he somehow managed to keep all emotion out of his voice.

'Why, because I'm right? Because the truth is you want to spend time with Kaiba, because you actually like him.'

'We're just friends Téa, or as close to friends as anyone can be with him,' he somehow managed to keep his voice level. 'I don't know what you're trying to insinuate here, to be honest I don't really care, but if you don't get the _hell_ out of my sight right now I promise you that's the end of our friendship.'

'You're really making that threat with me?'

'Get out Téa. Get the hell out, now.'

'Okay, okay I'm leaving,' she turned around, 'but don't think this is the end of it Tristan. Because, trust me, it's not.'

* * *

Téa gave a heavy sigh and stared back up at the house behind her. She hated the way she had to leave things between her and Tristan, but he wasn't exactly giving her much of a choice. The Tristan she knew, one of the friends she thought was solid enough to never disappear, had slipped through her fingers and she'd not been able to do a thing about it. The way he acted like it was somehow her fault just made her feel that much worse. She couldn't help the fact that she couldn't give him whatever it was he needed. And it wasn't exactly like he was giving her the chance to fix whatever the problem was either, he just wanted to shout at her and tell her she was useless, which honestly wasn't fair.

'You know it's not that he hasn't told you what the problem is, it's more that you don't listen.'

The sound of the unfamiliar voice made her half jump out of her skin. She turned to see a boy of about sixteen, with his arms folded and his head lowered enough for his straggly blond hair to half hide his face. He was dressed in a top with long black sleeves and a white body, along with faded blue jeans.

'If you want to repair the rift forming between the two of you, you're really going to have to correct that problem.' The boy lifted his head, revealing his mysteriously dark brown eyes. 'If you don't it's not just Tristan who's going to end up with a problem with you and right now you're far too pretty for target practice.'

'What...?' Téa stared at him. 'Who are you? How do you know all this?'

'I can't believe I'm going to say this, _again_, but who I am and how I know what I know really isn't important right now,' he flicked some of the hair back from his eyes. 'What's important is that we blow out of this place for a while; standing here really isn't going to change Tristan's opinion of you, but since it might change his opinion of me I'd rather be out of here before he goes out again.'

'What makes you so sure he is about to go out?'

'You're kidding me, right?'

'I...' she shook her head, feeling more than mildly confused.

'Tristan spends most of his time at the Kaiba place; it's only a matter of months before he'll move in there permanently.'

'Okay now I know you're just trying to wind me up,' an involuntary laugh escaped Téa.

'Not really and trust me I would know how if I wanted to.' He smirked. 'Now come on, let blow out of this place already, I don't really want to get caught here.'

'Okay...' Téa found herself examining him suspiciously, 'then you should leave.'

'I'm not going anywhere without you,' the kid caught hold of her arm, 'trust me I'm doing this for your own good,' he began pulling her away, 'if I want things to change then I have to make sure people don't fall into the same old traps.'

'Huh?'

'It doesn't matter,' he shook his head as he continued to drag her along, 'just trust me on this one and maybe one day you and Tristan really will be friends again. Maybe. Who knows. I mean, the future isn't written in stone, right? I hope.'

* * *

With a cat-like curl to her movements Ahna stretched out on the bed and wiggled herself into an even more comfortable position. With the months of stress which had gone before the birth of her son and then the early kick start into motherhood, Ahna had not had a single moment to relax in what felt like forever. And even though she was enjoying every single second of it, new mother anxiety was starting to kick in and a part of her couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before Mai brought Crovell back.

The gentle knock at the door came at exactly the right moment and even though she didn't totally want to be disturbed she was hopeful for the return of her baby.

'Who is it?' Her voice sounded groggier than she expected.

'It's me Ahna.'

'Come in,' a little smile pulled its way onto her face as she sat up.

'How's your afternoon been,' Mai's face was filled with a slightly awkward smile as she moved towards the bed, 'you manage to catch up on your sleep?'

'Mm,' she stretched her arms out for Crovell and Mai carefully handed him back to her, 'but I think I'm ready to go back to being a mother now. How is my little one?'

'He's been as good as gold.'

Ahna gave a contented little smile as she shot a grateful look in Mai's direction. Things might not have been particularly comfortable between the two of them, but in small, begrudging ways they were improving. As Crovell made a fussy noise in her arms, Ahna turned her attention back towards him and spotted the pendent around his neck.

'Is this a Matra?' Ahna frowned as she examined the pendent.

'Err… yeah.'

'Where'd you get it?'

'Nayta…'

'The Odraian jewellery maker,' Ahna finished for her.

'She said it was a gift from her to Crovell.'

'That figures,' she gave a half laugh, 'but now it spoils my surprise.'

'Huh?'

She pointed towards a red box on top of her chest of drawers. Curiously Mai wondered over to it and picked it up.

'Go on, open it, it's yours.' Ahna couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Inside the box was a falcon shaped pendent. The body of the bird was a mix of orange and red, whereas the wings were a mix of silver and pink. The pendent itself was capped with a silver hoop which allowed it to hang on a woven silver chain. The whole thing was beautifully ornate, yet well made and robust enough not to break easily. Ahna had spent hours searching for the perfect gift before spotting the pendent and knowing instantly that was it.

'Is this a…' Mai's face was filled with a mystified look as she turned back towards Ahna.

'A Matra, yeah,' she blushed slightly. 'I know it's traditionally given to Odraian children, so please don't think I'm trying to patronise you, but...'

'It's beautiful,' Mai cut her off, 'thank you. But I don't understand...'

'You've been doing a lot to help me out since Crovell's been born and I wanted you to know that I really appreciate it. I mean... I know we're not going to be best friends or anything like that any time soon, but...'

'I understand,' Mai placed the box back down and removed the pendent.

She fiddled with the clasp for a few moments; first to get it undone and then to secure it round her neck. Once she had she turned fully back towards Ahna and posed.

'What do you think?'

'It suits you,' Ahna laughed, 'but I had a feeling it would.'

Crovell chose that exact moment to start making loud, fussy noises, bringing both of their attentions back to him.

'What's the matter sweetie?' Ahna cooed as he started to cry.

'Is he alright?' Mai frowned in concern for a moment.

'He's probably hungry.'

'I'll leave you to it then.'

'Thanks again Mai,' she nodded as the older woman turned to leave.

'For what?'

'Taking care of him today, you really didn't have to.'

'And you didn't have to give me this,' Mai's right hand lightly stroked the pendent.

'No, I did, you're a god send Mai and you don't even know it.'

* * *

The part of him which used to feel bad about doing this had all but disappeared the second he'd entered this room. Even though the paint had long since been removed from the walls, he could still smell its acrid and sickly sweet tones. Tones which couldn't only belong to a particular type of paint used in magical rituals. Tones which meant this room was the one they'd been planning on keeping Ahna in, in one of the incarnations of their plan. It made every inch of distrust he still had lurking inside of him rise with renewed force.

Whatever else had been in the room was no longer here, probably moved by the split consciousness of the Pure, along with Mokuba, back when she was trying to trick him into believing she was Mov. He sighed and was about to move his search into another room when a continual slapping rhythm started in the corridor outside. Carefully he made his way towards the door and peaked out. The slapping rhythm was being made by Tristan as he bounced a dark blue ball off of the wall where he was sitting. Stood next to him, hugging one of the books he'd borrowed, was Mokuba.

'And that's not all,' the sound of Mokuba's voice drifted towards him, 'once the ceremonial battle is done, all the Priests and Priestess of the two Temples sit down to a huge banquet.'

'Is this your way of telling me you want a banquet tomorrow?' Tristan smirked. 'Only it was hard enough convincing your brother to stick around for the eclipse, never mind anything else.'

'But the eclipse is a big deal,' Mokuba's voice squeaked with excitement as he spoke, 'I don't understand why you two aren't getting excited about it.'

'Because all this stuff you're getting excited over isn't really our culture,' Tristan stopped throwing the ball for a moment. 'I get why you're so into it right now, believe me I get it. But shouldn't you be taking more of an interest in learning how to use whatever Win powers it is you have, rather than learning everything you can about how the other half live?'

'I don't want what happened to you and Seto to happen to me too,' Mokuba shook his head. 'And I know you probably already know most of this stuff, but can't you at least humour me a little?'

'Okay lus braysta, I'll humour you.'

In his positions in the shadows he felt his blood run cold. _Lus braysta_ was Etean, why would Tristan be using Etean?

'Okay, check out this thing,' Mokuba showed Tristan a page from the book he was holding, 'it's called a Matra. They come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but that one there is the most common,' he tapped the page.

'Wow really and what does a Matra do?' The enthusiasm in Tristan's voice was so clearly fake the look of disgust it caused on Mokuba's face was only to be expected.

'You know that's not how you humour people, right?'

'Hey, it's still a million times better than your brother would do.'

'Tristan...'

'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' he lowered his head and raised his arms in an exaggerated manner, 'feed me to the wolves and I shall be saved.'


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

'You know it's funny you should mention wolves,' Mokuba began flicking through the book he was holding, 'because I haven't even begun on the Silkoneon traditions yet.'

'Ugh,' Tristan groaned as he began throwing his ball again, 'can't you just shoot me through the head now Mokuba?

'The Run of the Wolves is led by the head of the Lutoni house,' Mokuba began reading, completely ignoring Tristan's comment as he did, 'and all Silkoneons with wolves or dogs as their Sintoy are expected to participate. They gather in front of the Southern Palace an hour before the eclipse, transform into their Sintoy form and run as a pack until the moon starts to cover the sun. At that point, no matter where they are, the whole pack stops and begins howling. The howling continues until the eclipse is over, at which point all they fall silent and lower their heads as a sign of mourning over Sta's loss.'

'Because of course to the wolves Sta's defeat is a complete and utter tragedy,' for half a second Tristan appeared to clench his teeth. 'What's so great about the God of the Moon anyway?'

'Sta has an affinity for wolves, since he himself has a wolven form,' Mokuba found himself studying Tristan curiously. 'For that reason all the Silkoneons we would say had canine Sintoys, or veron Sintoys if you prefer the Etean, patron Sta.'

'Well good for them,' Tristan threw the ball so hard against the wall its overpowered trajectory sent it bouncing down the corridor, 'and let me guess, the wolves cement their Sta love in with some kind of feast.'

'Yeah, back at the Southern Palace,' Mokuba frowned, 'are you okay Tristan? Only you're acting a little bit... weird.'

'I just don't like Sta,' Tristan got up to fetch his ball, gripping it tightly in his hand for a moment as he did.

'Why not?'

'It doesn't matter,' he shook his head, 'it's a stupid reason anyway. I know it's a stupid reason, but... it doesn't matter... it's just how I feel.'

'Do you want to talk about it?' Mokuba took a cautious step towards him.

'That's what Dr Charm is for, remember,' Tristan rolled his eyes. 'Okay, maybe I have to change some of the details so she doesn't think I'm some total head case in need of locking back up somewhere I can never be released from, but your brother's not paying her so I can talk about all my problems with you lus braysta.'

'But that doesn't mean you can't talk to me about things as well.'

'I know, but...' Tristan shifted uncomfortably, 'there are just some things I'd rather you didn't know, that's all.'

'Like how you really feel about my brother?'

Mokuba knew he was pressing his luck, but he couldn't help it. He knew the friendship between Tristan and Kaiba was complicated and the chances Tristan would actually answer his question was slim. But his chances with Tristan were still better than getting anything out of Kaiba.

'So what time is the eclipse tomorrow,' Tristan began throwing his ball again, completely ignoring Mokuba's question.

'Eleven o'clock I think.'

'You think?' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at him. 'You've been talking about nothing else for the last two weeks and you only _think_ you know what time it is tomorrow?'

'I have the time written down somewhere,' Mokuba averted his gaze, 'I've just been more interested in all the Silkoneon and Odraian traditions which go along with it.'

'Yeah, well here's to Du's victory over his brother,' Tristan's jaw clenched again.

'You really don't like Sta, do you?'

'Why the hell would I like the Pure's husband,' he shrugged.

'Wait a minute, are you jealous of Sta?' Mokuba cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Jealous of Sta,' Tristan was gripping the ball so tight in his fist his knuckles were starting to turn white, 'why the hell would I be jealous of him?'

* * *

He was agitated. More than agitated. The use of Etean had been one thing, but a Silkoneon expression...? His hands clenched and unclenched as he stormed back and forth across the floor. Maybe this wasn't enough to confirm his suspicions, but it was pretty damning, at least as far as he was concerned.

'Joey,' Mai's voice suddenly broke into his train of thought, making him jump, 'are you okay?'

'They were clever, they were so damn clever when they suggested their own punishment,' Joey stopped pacing and turned towards her. 'I should have banned them from seeing each other.'

'What...?' Mai frowned for a moment. 'Wait are you talking about Tristan and Kaiba _again_?'

'Who else?'

'You don't still think they're after Crovell, do you?' Mai rolled her eyes. 'Or is it the heavens you're back to worrying about this week?'

'Actually this time it's Mokuba,' Joey went back to pacing again.

'Really,' Mai gave an exasperated sigh, 'and just what have either of them done to make you suspect Mokuba might be in some kind of danger.'

'Who said I think he's in any kind of danger?' Joey shook his head.

'So, what, you think they're going to use or manipulated him somehow?'

'Couldn't have said it better myself.'

'And just what do you think they're going to try to _do_ with Mokuba exactly?'

'I don't know, not yet, but I'll figure it out and when I do...'

'Joey stop,' Mai placed her hand on his shoulders, 'stop this, they're not up to anything. And even if they are there's realistically very little they can do about it. So stop spying on them or whatever it is _you're_ doing when _you_ claim to be too busy to spend time with _your_ son. All you're doing is winding yourself up and wasting time you could spend bonding with Crovell.'

'I know you're right, but...' Joey sighed and turned away from her, 'I'm not the only one who's paranoid and it's pretty damn hard to ignore the First.'

* * *

'I'd almost forgotten this place used to look like this,' he slowly made his way around the game shop. 'I still remember the first time my mother brought me here, I must have been three, maybe four at the time. I remember the smell more than anything,' he closed his eyes for a moment. 'It was almost as if...' he shook his head, 'it doesn't matter.'

'What do you mean you'd forgotten this place _used_ to look like this,' Téa gave him an odd look, 'this place has _always_ looked like this.'

'Err... sorry, contextual slip, I meant I'd almost forgotten what this place looked like. I used to come here all the time when I was a kid.'

'That might have been what you_ meant_ to say, but it's not what you actually said. Just who are you?'

'All in good time Téa,' he grinned at her. 'So, do you want to go get Yugi for me?'

'Why is it you need to see him again?' Téa frowned.

'Does it really matter at this point?'

She stared at him for a few moments, before shrugging and disappearing up the stairwell at the back of the shop. The second she left he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. The last time he'd been stood in this exact same spot his nostrils had been filled with the scent of charred wood and cindering embers. But now it smelt almost the exact same way it had the first time he was here; musty scents mixed with youth and excitement. The sound of approaching footsteps forced his eyes to open again. He was soon greeted with the sight of Yugi, followed by Téa, entering the shop.

'Yugi,' he took several steps towards him, 'somehow I didn't expect you to look quite so... young.'

'Err... okay,' Yugi frowned at him, 'are you here for some kind of duel.'

'No,' he shook his head, 'I don't duel anymore, I haven't needed to since we finally defeated the Game Master.'

'The who...?'

'It doesn't matter right now,' he pressed his lips together and stretched a hand out towards him. 'I'm CL and I've been told on many occasions this is about as far as my manners stretch so don't expect any kind of formality from me after this.

'Okay...' Yugi hesitantly accepted CL's outstretched hand. 'So CL, what exactly are you doing here?'

'I guess that's a fair question, but I can't really answer it right now,' CL half turned away from him, 'and it's not just because I love being cryptic. It's because I only have one shot at this and I can't afford any screw ups, which means not letting you guys in on anything until you need to know. And yeah I know it's crappy, but if I don't get it right this time it'll be even worse. You just have to trust me on that.'

'Err... okay,' Yugi and Téa exchanged nervous glances.

'Hey do you guys mind if we eat, only I'm kind of starving,' CL grinned at them.

'I see what you mean about having no manners,' Téa rolled her eyes, 'shouldn't you get to know a person a little better before you start demanding food off of them?'

'But I do know you guys, better than you realise,' CL laughed. 'Of course you don't exactly know me from Adam right now so I can see your point, but still there's nothing like the communal experience of eating to get to know someone, right?'

'You're going to keep talking about food till you're fed, aren't you?'

'Right.'

'So CL, you want to come up for some food?' Yugi cocked an eyebrow at him.

'I would love to Yugi,' CL laughed again, 'it's like you read my mind.'


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

There was something bizarrely familiar about CL, although Téa would have been hard pressed to say what it was. She also couldn't deny he was kind of cute too and the way he was helping himself to yet another round of sandwiches just made her smile.

'What?' CL stared at her. 'Do I have something on my face?'

'No,' she shook her head, 'it's just there's only one other person I know with an appetite like yours.'

'Oh?' CL picked up yet another sandwich.

'Yeah, his name's Joey and...'

As soon as she mentioned his name CL's face had darkened. The expression was so sudden and out of place it made Téa's mouth go dry and caused the rest of her sentence to stick to the top of her mouth like peanut butter.

'Are you okay?' Yugi frowned at him.

'I think I just lost my appetite,' CL rose from his seat and moved towards the window. 'When did it get so dark out?'

'Hours ago,' Téa checked her watch, 'it's actually kind of late now, I really should be getting home.'

'Do you want me to walk you?' Yugi smiled at her.

'Nah, I'll be fine.'

'No you won't,' CL's tone was strangely flat. 'I mean, it's late, anyone could be out there and I would hate for something to happen to that pretty face of yours. It's so easy to hurt someone once their already damage, it's like the guilt is lessoned somehow.'

'What?' Téa frowned at him. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Nothing,' he shook his head, 'I just like you the way you are and I think it would be safer if we walked you home.'

'I agree,' Yugi nodded, 'about the walking you home part I mean. I'd feel better if I knew you got home safely.'

'Well since you're both being so insistent about it I guess I don't have a choice,' Téa rolled her eyes.

'Super,' an unsettling grin appeared on CL's face, 'I always wondered how things would be if you remained like this. I guess now I get to find out.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Things need to change and I'm here to provide that change.'

CL's words made everything in Téa cringe. It wasn't just the way he reminded her of Tristan, it was everything about him. All the little things he said which seemed to hint at something they weren't allowed to know about yet; it was like he enjoyed dangling carrots in front of them, waiting for them to bite only to pull it away again.

'Is something wrong,' CL's expression relaxed into something more natural.

'No...' Téa forced a smile of her own.

'Then what are we waiting for,' he made his way towards the door, 'let's go.'

* * *

It was early in the morning and dawn was only just starting to cast shadows through the windows as she made her way through the maze of corridors towards his room. This wasn't the first time she'd made this journey in the last week and it probably wouldn't be the last time either. Taking a deep breath in she knocked on the door, gently at first then a little louder when she failed to get a response.

'Again?' He yawned as his bleary eyes met with hers.

'They won't listen to me Macar,' her face pulled with misery. 'They have absolutely no respect for my authority. They think I have no right coming here and ordering them around like this. They have no faith in my abilities. They...'

'You were the one who wanted me to get you a position here Korin,' he rubbed the sleep from his face.

'A position Macar, not head chef,' she shook her head. 'I can't do this.'

'Yes you can. I know you can. I wouldn't have put you forward for this position if I didn't think you could handle it. The kitchen staff here have just been without an official leader for a while, so they're bound to be a little touchy to authority. But you can whip them into shape, I know you can.'

'But what if I can't? Or worse, what if Veronie recognises me from the Temple of Mov? What if he knows I'm the girl who was accused of poisoning Mai?'

'I told you, he knows who really did it so that really won't be a problem.'

'But what if you're wrong? Macar, what if I can't do this?'

'Calm down Korin,' he placed his hands on his shoulders, 'you're just doing what you always do when faced with a challenging. You come running to me for help and then jump back into your corner raring to go because we both know you don't really need my help. You've always been a lot more capable than I am.'

'But what if this is the one time I'm not?'

'Do you want me to come down and help?'

'Yeah I do,' Korin nodded, 'you're a Guard of the House so they'll have to respect your authority and... and maybe they'll start respecting mine too.'

'Personally I think you're underestimating yourself here,' he rolled his eyes, 'but if you need me to hold your hand until you see for yourself what you're capable of then I will. I don't think I should have to, but I will.'

'Thank you Macar,' she breathed a sigh of relief.

'Well it's not like you're giving me much of a choice here, is it?' He shook his head. 'But if you start battering me away five minutes in because you realise you don't actually need my help I won't be happy,' he smirked, 'because I'm now missing out on sleep for you and you know how much I enjoy that.'

* * *

The early morning light filled both her and the room with a sense of wellbeing. It might have been chilly outside, but she still opened the window in order to breathe in the bracingly fresh air. For half a second she closed her eyes and wished everything could stay this still and perfect. Almost as soon as she'd finished her thought, Crovell began to stir behind her.

'Well good morning little one,' she pulled the window closed again before making her way towards the crib, 'and how are you this morning?' She leant down and picked him up. 'You hungry yet? Hey little one.'

'Of course he's hungry,' a voice sounded from behind her. 'I mean, he is Joey's son after all.'

'What are you doing here?' Her eyes felt as big as saucers as she whipped round to face him.

'What I'm always doing here,' he rolled his eyes, 'being summoned by a baby. In his sleep this time no less,' his face filled with an amused look and shook his head. 'You really ought to have a word with him about this, any earlier and I'd still be getting dressed.'

'He's only a baby Duke, it's not like he understands these things.'

'You know, you really shouldn't underestimate him. He hates that.'

'Duke he's a month old,' Ahna shook her head in despair.

'So?' He folded his arms. 'He's no ordinary child you know.'

'I know, but he is still a child.'

'For now,' Duke's face filled with a strange smile as his gaze focused on Crovell, 'but you don't plan on taking long growing up if you possibly can help it, right little one?'

'Do you want me to send you home?' Ahna could feel her patience dwindling.

'Without holding him first?'

'Without holding him first,' she knew she was being curt, but she couldn't help it; she shared Joey's concerns about the strange bond Duke and Crovell seemed to share.

'Why am I always made to feel like the bad guy around here,' Duke shook his head. 'Okay, send me home.'

Ahna lowered her head slightly, closed her eyes and concentrated. Remote Jumping was not a skill most Silkoneons needed to learn, but with Duke's help she'd mastered it just as quickly as she had Glamouring.

'So are you going to send me home or what?'

The second he spoke her eyes flicked back open. Remote Jumping might take a little longer to pull off than normal Jumping, but she'd managed to get her timing right down, he should have been gone by now.

'I... I'm trying, give me a second.'

She closed her eyes again and concentrated even harder on what she wanted to happen. She could feel her whole being willing Duke to return to his home in Domino City. It felt like she was going back to basics, but she didn't care, she just wanted him gone.

'Is there some kind of problem Ahna?'

The sound of his voice made her heart drop to the pit of her stomach. Opening her eyes only confirmed what she knew to be true.

'You're still here.'

'I had noticed.'

'I don't understand; I mean, I don't think there's anything wrong with my powers, but...'

'Let me guess, new little trick of yours Crovell,' Duke smirked at the child.

Crovell made a few contented gurgling sounds.

'I know how you feel little buddy, but I can also see both sides of the argument on this one.'

Crovell gurgled some more.

'Well, if you're not going to let me go then I guess I have no choice but to stay.'

'You don't have to sound so happy about it,' Ahna glared at him, 'Veronie's going to be furious when he finds out.'

'It's not like it's my fault, Crovell's just a child, remember? He doesn't know any better.'

'But you do.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Do you control the child Duke or does the child control you?'

* * *

Her eyes fluttered open to the sight of Joey's face beaming down at her.

'Good morning,' his voice was soft and loving, 'beautiful day, isn't it?'

'Someone's in a good mood this morning,' she gently stroked the hair out of his eyes.

'How can I not be when there's so much energy flowing through me today?' She could hear a buzz of excitement in his voice. 'It's like the wolf inside me knows how important today is and is just as excited about it as I am. I never thought it would feel like this.' His eyes met with hers. 'It's a shame you can't come with me today Mai, I'd love for you to be running alongside me.'

'I know,' she half lowered her gaze as her fingers lightly traced circles on his arm, 'but I'll be right here waiting for you when you come back.'

'In bed?' Joey cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

'You know what I mean,' Mai laughed as she playfully slapped his arm.

'Yeah I know,' he leant down and kissed her, 'but I also know it's about time we got up.'

'Do we really have to?'

'Well I suppose we've still got a little bit of time,' a wry smile filled his face as he glanced towards the clock on the bedside table.

'Good,' she half stretched before closing her eyes again, 'wake me in fifteen minutes, would you?'

'Oh no, you don't,' he began poking her in the ribs.

'Joey, stop,' she couldn't help but squeal as her eyes flew open, 'what do you think you're doing?'

'I'm only trying to wake you up Mai,' Joey grinned, 'today's way too important to sleep through.'


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

'So what do you think, the blue one or the red one?'

Crovell made a few unintelligible gurgling noises, which, like always, made perfect sense to him.

'You're right, blue is more your colour,' Duke grinned as he placed the blue baby sized baseball style cap on Crovell's head. 'There, now let's just hopes your Mummy likes it.'

'You talk like you're his Daddy, but you're not you know,' the sound of the familiar voice behind him made him jump.

'Uh... I know,' he turned to her, 'but... well its complicated.'

'I like complicated, maybe if you explain it I can help you figure it out,' she bounced on her heels like some overenthusiastic child.

'I'm not sure I can explain it, it's _that_ kind of complicated,' Duke pulled a face. 'What are you doing here anyway Cat?'

'Here as in Crovell's room or here as in the Southern Palace?' Catilin tilted her head to one side.

'The Southern Palace. I thought there was some kind of important celebration going on today.'

'There is, but the Ashmar always celebrate the Duite with the Lutoni. We like to watch the wolves run.'

'I see...'

Crovell made a squeaky little noise and Duke couldn't help but laugh.

'Yeah, I know.'

'Do you really understand him?' Catilin placed her hands behind her back as she half skipped towards him. 'I mean, does it sound like he's talking in English when he's talking to you.'

'Not really,' Duke shook his head, 'I mean, I hear the same squeaks and gurgles you hear, they just make sense to me for some reason. I don't know, sometimes I think maybe it's all in my head and I know that's what Ahna and Joey think.'

'Don't worry about Veronie, he's just jealous cuz you're more like Crovell's Daddy than he is,' Catilin wiggled her fingers at the baby. 'But that's kinda hiet braysta's own fault for not spending enough time with him. That's what Ahna says and Mai agrees so I know it's true.'

There was something so innocent about the matter of fact way she was speaking that Duke couldn't help but smile and laugh.

'Did I say something funny?' Catilin stared at him.

'No, you're just a little on the cute side when you get all serious like that.'

'You think I'm cute?'

'Err...'

'Is that why you told Cayoon we were Crovell's parents?'

'You... you know about that?' Duke could feel his cheeks starting to turn red. 'Because you know I was just trying to protect Crovell's identity at the time, right?'

'Uh-huh, I know, that's what I told Cayoon. I said you were just trying to protect the little one just in case someone bad was listening in. She wanted to know what kind of bad person would want to hurt a new born baby, but I said it wasn't something she needed to know. She wasn't happy about that, but she understands that sometimes people need to keep secrets.'

'So you don't mind.'

'Uh-uh,' she shook her head. 'I think its sweet you thought of me first.'

'Well it's not as though I had a whole pool of names at my disposal. Other than you and Joey, the only Silkoneon I'd even heard of before that point was Ahna.'

'So you didn't think of me first,' Catilin sounded a little disappointed.

'No, I did, I just...'

As he was searching for some way to finish his sentence, she leaned in towards him and gave him a very gentle, very tentative kiss. Almost as soon as she had she pulled away from him and shyly averted her gaze.

'What... what was that?' Duke found himself staring at her.

'A kiss,' she childishly swung her body from side to side, 'I just wanted to see if I liked you.'

'Okay...' he blinked, not totally sure what to say next.

'If you don't like me it's okay, I know I've not always been a good person,' she shuffled her way out of the room. 'But if you do like me that's okay too.'

With that she left the room, leaving Duke feeling more than mildly confused.

'Well, what did you make of all that little one,' Duke forced his attention back down towards the baby.

Crovell made a chirping noise and wiggled a little.

'Oh, you do, do you,' Duke scooped him up out of the crib. 'Well I think you're too little to have opinions on things like that.'

Crovell chirped again.

'Yeah, well...' his eyes turned towards the empty doorway, 'we'll see.'

* * *

'Catilin,' Ahna blinked at her, 'you're early.'

'I know,' she grinned, 'the air was singing this morning. I can still hear it a little now, _hmm hm hmm hm_,' she hummed. 'I wish you could hear it Ahna, it's really pretty.'

'I bet it is,' she laughed, 'but if we were both Calicaccus then who would take care of you when things get too much?'

'Not all active Calicaccus have it so bad Ahna; I just got a bit of bad luck.'

'No, what you got was manipulated and punished,' she gentle tucked the stray bits of hair in front of Catilin's face behind her ears.

'Maybe,' she shrugged. 'Duke's kinda cute, don't you think?'

'Duke?' Ahna frowned at the sudden change in conversation.

'Mmhmm,' she nodded. 'He's cute, I think.'

'I guess...'

'Cayoon still thinks he and I really are together you know,' Catilin bounced on her heels for a moment. 'She believes Crovell is really yours and Veronie's now, but I couldn't convince her Duke and I were just friends. She said _there's something about him_.'

'Yeah, the fact he won't leave my son alone,' Ahna rolled his eyes.

'Uh-uh, she said it was because he knows why the wolves howl.'

'Huh?' Ahna felt her stomach spike with momentary fear.

'She said Duke knows why the wolves howl, isn't that funny?'

'He... he probably picked it up from Veronie.'

'Mm, that's what I thought, but I don't remember hiet braysta ever saying it when we were all hanging out together. In fact he makes sure not to be too Silkoneon around them, he says it's because he doesn't need to be. But how else would Duke know.'

'I... I really don't know,' Ahna felt her insides squirm a little as she remembered something Jay had confided in her back when they were being unknowingly influenced by the Reganna.

'You've made the air go all buzzy,' Catilin turned towards her.

'Uh...' she felt caught out for a moment, until she realised Catilin wasn't staring at her but at a point past her.

'You look like the girl from my dream,' Catilin clapped her hands together, 'the one with the blue wolf. It howls and it howls and it howls. Do you know why it's howling?'

There were a few seconds of silence before Catilin's expression distorted and she took several steps back.

'You're afraid. Why? Why are you so afraid?' Her body trembled. 'Oh Ahna I'm scared,' their eyes met. 'We're scared,' she began uncomfortably curling in on herself. 'It's like a pit Ahna, a dark, dark pit. All consuming. All blackening. I can feel it Ahna, it's caving in around me. I can feel death Ahna,' she began clawing at herself. 'Death and chaos and confusion. Everything's gone. Everything's destroyed and still the wolf is howling. It's howling and howling I can hear it Ahna. Make it stop. Make it stop.'

'Catilin...'

Before Ahna could move towards her, a girl shot across the room and grabbed hold of Catilin as her body began to collapse towards the ground. Several distressing moans and wails then came out of Catilin as the trembling in her body edged towards violent.

'What do we do,' the girl's eyes turned up towards Ahna, 'you used to take care of her, right? What do we do? How do we calm her down?'

'We need to stop her flailing around first,' Ahna felt herself jump into action, if we don't she could seriously hurt herself.'

'And how do we do that?'

Before Ahna could answer, Catilin had broken free of the girl's grip and backed herself away from both of them. Her wailing died away and she was left staring at them both with eyes as wide as saucers.

'I saw the wolf,' her voice was little more than a breathy whisper, 'he howled and howled at his mistress as though she were the moon. He deafened me,' Catilin crushed her wrists against the sides of her head, 'I could scarcely breathe as I drowned amid the voices. I saw the wolf,' her eyes met with Ahna's, 'he was my brother.'

The girl took half a step towards Catilin, but she just squeaked and backed further away. Ahna took a deep breath in and did her best to assess the situation. She knew if she didn't calm Catilin down soon she really would do harm to herself and not accidently either.

'The storm comes,' Catilin's voice squeaked with unfamiliar tones, 'I do not beacon to it, it beacons to me. The rain beats, encasing the soul. The thunder booms, tainting the mind. The lightning streaks, striking the heart. And the wind howls, battering the body.' She closed her eyes. 'The storm calls. I am lost.' She dropped herself into a ball and began hugging her knees.

'Oh god, she's about to go total,' Ahna moved quickly towards her.

'But she seems so calm,' the girl shook her head, 'are you sure it's not over?'

'You haven't dealt with Calicaccus before, have you?' Ahna gripped Catilin's arms and tried to get her to meet her gaze.

'No.'

'This is just the calm before the storm, if we don't get this out of her now, then…' she bit her lip.

'So how do we do that?'

'We need to get her somewhere secure,' Ahna's mind began figuring out how and where they needed to go from here, 'and we need to get her a mirror.'

'A mirror?'

'It's an old trick; I don't know how it works I just know that it does.'

'Okay, what can I do to help?'

'You can help me get her to her feet for a start.'

Automatically the girl nodded and jumped into action. Between the two of them they managed to get Catilin to her feet and slowly moving through the castle to the closest secure room Ahna could think of. As they moved along Ahna couldn't help but study the girl, realising she recognised her from somewhere.

'How long have you been working in the Southern Palace for?'

'Not very long, I was taken on to run the kitchen here at the start of the Duite preparations,' the girl bit her lip nervously. 'Before then I used to work in the kitchens at the Temple of Mov.'

'I... I'm sorry, what?'

'I... I used to work in the kitchens at the Temple of Mov, but the kitchen here needed a coordinator and Macar put me forward for the job.'

'C-Covo put you forward for the job?' Ahna's mouth felt a little dry. 'So... so you're a friend of his then?'

'Macar and I are much closer than that,' she laughed, 'we've known each other our whole lives. It's why he got me the job actually, because he hated us being apart as much as I did.'

Catilin began to whimper as her footsteps faltered. Not wanting her to start fitting here, Ahna brought them to a stop for a moment to readjust how they were both helping Catilin along, before coordinating them into moving again.

'What a day for this to happen, hey?' The girl's face filled with a weak smile.

'Don't... don't change the subject,' Ahna could feel her heart beating hard in her chest. 'What did you mean when you said Covo hated the two of you being apart? Just how close are you?'

'Close,' her tone was light, but strangely careful, 'really close. Like I said, we've known each other our whole lives and we've never been apart for long. In fact being apart from him for almost three weeks was so painful I thought I was going to die. It was like somebody had taken my left arm away and I know he felt it too.'

'Leave,' Ahna felt herself flame with jealousy.

'What?' The girl stared at her in confusion.

'I don't need _your_ help; I can deal with our sarn on _my_ own.' Ahna knew she was being unreasonable, but she couldn't help it; something about this girl had suddenly rubbed her the wrong way.

'But… I... I don't understand...' the girl shook her head, 'what did I do wrong?'

'Leave,' Ahna gritted her teeth, 'don't ask questions just leave and leave now.'

'Alright, alright,' she let go of Catilin and slowly backed away, 'whatever it was I said or did to offend you, I'm sorry, but... I was only trying to help.'


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

'That kid's weird,' Téa tilted her head as she watched CL lie upside down on Yugi's couch, handset in hand, skipping through the channels, 'don't you think?'

'You're telling me,' Yugi rolled his eyes, 'six am he was at my door this morning. Six am. _And_ he's been doing that for the last three hours.'

'Why are you putting up with it? Why don't you just kick him out or something?'

'I don't know,' Yugi shook his head, 'I mean, I've almost done it more than once, but every time I try it's like... It's like he knows how to use my empathic abilities against me,' he lowered his voice.

'And now you've just added to my cons list,' Téa shook her head. 'I just can't make up my mind about whether or not we should trust this guy.'

'I'm not sure trust will ever come into this,' Yugi pulled a face. 'I think we're kind of stuck with him. So when's Duke supposed to get here?'

'Duke's not going to be able to make it today,' CL smirked at them from his awkward couch position. 'In fact he's about to call to let you know.'

'What?' Téa stared at him. 'How do you know?'

'Because he's on Sil right now,' he shrugged, 'and it'll be a while before he can come back.'

'What…?'

Before Téa could complete her sentence the phone began to ring.

'Right on time,' CL laughed. 'Well go on Yugi,' he flipped himself onto his knees, 'answer it.'

Téa and Yugi exchanged glances for a moment, before Yugi obediently left the room in order to answer the phone.

'So CL,' Téa took a few steps towards him, 'you an only child?'

'No actually,' a strange smile filled his face, 'I have three half sisters. Why?'

'No reason really, I was just wondering.'

'I can show you pictures of them if you like,' he sprang up from the couch and moved towards her as though talking about his family was enough to genuinely excite him. 'They're all total princesses, but they're kinda cool.'

He slipped his wallet out of his pocket and flipped it open to reveal two group shots. The first was of a toddler and a young baby. The second was of four children, between the ages of nine and fifteen. The eldest of the four was CL, he was wearing a slight smirk and had his arms folded; to his right was a slender blonde, with velvet brown eyes and a small tight smile; to his left was a petite brunette, with bright eyes and a kind face and in front of him was a second brunette, with a sweet cherub look about her.

'That's Jo,' the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes softened as he pointed towards the blonde, 'she's less than a year younger than me.'

'She's really pretty,' Téa studied the girl for a moment.

'Yeah she is, but she takes after her mother so what do you expect?' He smiled, before pointing to the short, innocent looking brunette stood in front of him. 'That's Lilac,' he tilted his head, 'she's the baby obviously,' he laughed, 'and the favourite, not that anyone minds because you just can't hate her.'

'What about the other girl?'

'That's Hazelnut.'

'Hazelnut?' Téa frowned at him.

'I know,' he smirked. 'I named her; I was four and a half at the time.'

'Toddlers should not be allowed to name children,' Téa rolled her eyes and shook her head.

'Maybe not,' he tilted his head to one side, 'but she's never had any problems with the name. In fact in a lot of ways I think she's grateful for it, poor kid, she's been through so much without the shelter of innocence we wrap Ly in.'

'Shelter of innocence?' Téa frowned at his choice of words.'

'It doesn't matter,' he shook his head.

Unsatisfied with his answer, she was about to press further when Yugi returned. Automatically CL snapped his wallet shut and pocketed it.

'So let me guess, Duke, right?' CL smirked. 'Calling to say he's been tied up elsewhere this morning.'

'Err… yeah,' Yugi gave an awkward laugh, 'apparently Crovell's decided he's not allowed to leave today.'

'I bet Joey just loves that,' Téa allowed her voice to drip with sarcasm.

'Apparently he doesn't know yet, so we could still see Duke sometime soon.'

'Duke won't be back until...' CL stopped himself midsentence. 'Oh wait, that never happened so... so he doesn't need to come back because of it.' A huge grin spread across his face. 'It never happened. I actually managed to change things the way I wanted.'

'What are you talking about?' Téa stared at him.

'It doesn't matter,' the level of amusement in his face was matched only by the level in his voice, 'because it never happened.'

* * *

Ahna used to be able to tell instinctively when Catilin's episodes were coming on, but the fact it had taken her so long to work this one out made her heart hurt. As she lay behind Catilin, with her arms wrapped protectively round her friend, she half closed her eyes and tried to block out all the thoughts telling her she'd been well and truly ruined by evil. She was no longer the little girl who'd dreamed of being a nurse; she was just a shell of a person who couldn't tell when her best friend needed help until it was too late.

'Am I loved?' Catilin's weary voice caused Ahna's eyes to flick back open.

'Yes mai sarn,' Ahna kept her voice soft and gentle, 'by a great many people.'

'And you?'

'Aye mai sarn.'

'If I am loved does that mean I have a home?'

'Aye mai sarn.'

'And where is my home?'

'Near mai sarn.'

'So how did I get here?'

'Impatient spirits mai sarn, too many and too powerful for you to control; they led you astray.'

'And you will lead me home?'

'No mai sarn, you must lead yourself home.'

'Why can you not help me?'

'Because I cannot battle that which lurks within you mai sarn; only you may do that.'

'Then you do not love me.'

'No, you're wrong mai sarn, I love you a lot.'

'Then why won't you help me?'

'If I did that mai sarn, when your senses returned, you would not forgive me for it. You must stand alone and find your own way home.'

'Can you tell me the way?'

'No mai sarn.'

'Then leave me.'

'No mai sarn, not until you have returned.'

'And will you know when I have?'

'No mai sarn, only you will know that.'

'Do you know who I am?' Catilin gave a heavy sigh.

'Aye mai sarn.'

'Who am I?'

'You are mai sarn.'

'But what is my name?'

'When you are home mai sarn, you will know it.'

Suddenly a smile crept across Catilin's face and she turned towards Ahna.

'You remembered.'

'How could I forget mai sarn?'

'You can stop that now silly.'

'Sorry,' she gave a nervous laugh.

'What time is it?' Catilin stretched as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

'Nearly ten o'clock,' Ahna glanced at her watch.

'Yay,' Catilin laughed, 'only an hour to go before the run begins.'

'The run?' Ahna murmured to herself.

In the chaos of Catilin's episode, Ahna had almost forgotten what day it was. An unsettling feeling moved through Ahna's stomach as she thought back to the start of the episode; Catilin had been saying something about wolves and chaos. Was that some kind of forewarning? Ahna used to be able to tell the difference between fits and visions, but now...

'You coming?' Catilin bounced up from the bed. 'You can help me get ready.'

'I can't, I have to get myself ready,' Ahna shook her head as she got herself up from the bed. 'I may not be Veronie's mate anymore, but I am the mother of his child. For him to look good, I must look good.'

'And what about Mai?'

'I'm also helping her get ready.'

'Hiet braysta wants to make sure everyone knows she's his most important lady, doesn't he?' Catilin grinned at her.

'Well everyone is voting tomorrow,' Ahna averted his gaze.

'And they'll vote yes to letting us marry Standings.'

'We don't know that for sure,' she tilted her head to one side, 'and just in case things don't go our way Veronie wants to make sure everyone knows Mai is his chosen mate, regardless as to whether or not they can actually get married.'

'It's a silly rule which just makes people miserable anyway,' Catilin pulled a face, 'look what happened to Lilly, all that pain because she couldn't follow her heart.'

'Mm, I know.'

'So are you Mai's dresser now, like you used to be mine?'

'Mai doesn't officially have dressers yet,' Ahna shook her head, 'and if she does then... well, I just guess I'll have to be glad she thinks that much of me.'


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

'There, what do you think?' Korin smiled at her as she held up a mirror for Mai to check her reflection in.

Tentatively Mai traced her fingers along the thin braid which ran from the fringe line above her right eyebrow, down to the top of her neck on the left side. Her eyes then turned towards the identical looking braid in Korin's hair. Of all the female staff members in the Southern Palace, Korin's had not only been the neatest, but she was also responsible for doing similar looking braids for several other girls. It was why Mai had asked for her help when she'd failed three times to get it right on her own.

'You're really good at this,' Mai found herself fingering the braid again.

'When I was a kid I always wanted to be either a hairdresser or a chef. Then I turned eleven and decided I would become the world's first hairdresser chef,' Korin laughed. 'Of course, like everyone else finding out I was a Silkoneon put my plans on hold. Well, the hairdressing side of things anyway, I knew how to cook and that proved to be the ultimate advantage in a civilisation of children.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be,' she shrugged, 'I'm not.'

'So, what exactly is with the braid anyway?'

'It represents how many years the current head Ashmar has been on the throne,' Korin tilted her head in thought, 'so each year adds another braid.'

'But why? I mean, why braids?'

'Um…' she thought about it for a moment, 'I think that has something to do with Sil Ashmar's wife. I know she was supposed to be a silly bit and prone to fetishes. I also know when she married Sil, she insisted on having a braid in her hair for every year he'd been on the throne. I believe it was ten at that point; at least that was the story I was told.'

'Are you telling me the entire Silkoneon race follows a tradition started by a fetish prone woman?' Mai's face fell in dismay.

'I guess I am,' Korin laughed again as she put the mirror down. 'So who are your dressers anyway? Shouldn't they have been helping you with this?'

'Err...' Mai felt more than a little awkward, 'I've never actually appointed dressers,' she coughed, 'I've only been here a few months and I've never needed... or wanted an entourage.'

'Then who's going to help you get into the robes of the Lutoni house?' Korin stared at her. 'It's not a one person job, I can assure you that.'

'Well... Ahna said she would help.'

'The head female of the lead houses have two dressers for a reason,' Korin sighed, 'you and that little bit are not going to be able to do this by yourselves, so I volunteer my assistance.'

'You really think this is a three man job?'

'You haven't actually seen the robes yet, have you?'

'No,' she shook her head, 'Jo… Veronie said he wanted it to be a surprise. He hasn't let me anywhere near my wardrobe for days and has even been picking out my clothes for me just to make sure.'

'Well I can't say I blame him for wanting to surprise you,' Korin grinned, 'of the four head houses, the Lutoni robes are by far the most beautiful. Well at least I think so. But... well, if I am going to help you dress I would like a little favour in return.'

'What kind of favour?'

'Well... the position of Dresser of the House is as highly prised as the Guard of the House, I'm not saying I want a permanent move out of the kitchen, but it might help those straggly little few who don't think a Temple girl should be running their kitchen fall into line.'

'Of course,' Mai smiled, 'the spare tunic is in the wardrobe alongside my robes. Jo... Veronie said I should hold onto it here just in case I changed my mind about wanting someone else.'

'Thank you,' Korin leapt to her feet and made her way towards the wardrobe. 'Err... you should probably close your eyes or turn away or something, I wouldn't want Ahna telling me off for spoiling the surprise.'

'Okay,' Mai did as she was told, eying the clock on the bedside table as she did, 'but you'll have to get it on quickly, Ahna won't be much longer.'

'You don't have to worry about that, my brother and I used to race each other all the time to see who could get changed the fastest.'

'You have a brother?'

'Err...' there was something strange about Korin's tone, as though she'd been caught out or something. 'Yes, yes I have a brother.'

'Were you close?'

'Very.'

'You must miss him terribly then,' Mai lowered her head slightly. 'I sometimes hear some of the others talking about how much they miss their families, it makes me wish I felt the same about my own.'

'You can turn around now,' Korin laughed nervously, obviously wanting to change the subject.

Mai did as she was told to see Korin now dressed in a baby pink and pale blue floor length, tunic style dress which reminded Mai of the type Egyptian princesses were sometimes portrayed as wearing.

'Well, what do you think?'

'It looks beautiful.'

'Well, it's nothing compared to what you'll be wearing,' Korin laughed.

As she did, the door opened and Ahna, wearing the same style pink and blue tunic as Korin, entered. For the first thirty seconds her focus was on Mai and there was a genuine smile on her face, then she spotted Korin and her smile instantly slipped.

'Please don't tell me _you're_ the other dresser.'

'I am actually,' Korin's face filled with a wary smile.

'What, did Covo recommend you for this too? Can't you get anything on your own merits?'

'Actually I asked her to help me out with my hair and she offered her assistance,' Mai wasn't totally sure why Ahna was being so defensive, but she knew she didn't like it. 'It's not going to be a problem, is it?'

'No,' Ahna rolled her eyes slightly, 'I guess not.'

* * *

For a few moments he just stood in the doorway watching Tristan throw the blue stress ball into the air and catch it, over and over again. It was pretty obvious the guy was feeling anxious and he couldn't blame him. Neither of them really knew if they could achieve what they were hoping for now neither of them had access to _their_ powers. Tristan had been right when he talked about this stage of their plan being nothing more than a waiting game; but if they somehow managed to pull it off it would be more than worth it.

Kaiba took a deep breath in and crossed the short distance between them. He then caught the ball midair, before it could make its return descent into Tristan's hand.

'I'm not throwing it at you or to annoy you,' Tristan stared up at him, 'so what gives?'

'Mokuba's starting to figure out your habits,' Kaiba folded his arms, crushing the ball into his hand as he did, 'we don't want to give him any reason to start asking questions.'

'You think I'm incapable of bluffing when it comes to your brother?'

Kaiba shrugged and said nothing.

'Remind me again how we ended up as friends.'

'Who said we're friends?' Kaiba averted his gaze.

'Right, the _no labels_ rule,' Tristan placed his hands on the ground behind him and rested against them. 'The cheep and efficient way of keeping me around without having to care about me, right?'

Kaiba made no attempt to reply; he wasn't sure he knew how.

'Right,' there was an edging note of hurt in Tristan's voice.

Kaiba felt like he should say something, but pretty much every sentence which came into his head he instantly dismissed, leaving him with the strong feeling of words being caught in his throat. It resulted in a long silence; a silence which slowly edged towards being too long.

'You know there are some who say Sta will one day win this little battle of theirs,' Tristan's voice was mute.

'Not bloody likely,' Kaiba rolled his eyes. 'He acts without thinking, which means most of his plans are half-cocked and bound towards failure. He's irrational and emotional and arrogant...'

'Sounds like a combination of you and the Pure to me.'

'Are you calling me rash, irrational and emotional?' Kaiba cocked an eyebrow at him.

'I was thinking more along the lines of arrogant, the rest is more fitting for the Pure.'

'You think I'm arrogant,' he unfolded his arms and rolled the ball between his hands for a moment.

'I don't think Seto, I know.' Tristan's gaze turned towards the horizon. 'And what's more so do you. Doesn't mean it's a bad thing though; I mean, where would you be if you weren't a little arrogant?'

'Hmm.'

'And here was me thinking you didn't have feelings to hurt,' Tristan glanced back towards him for a moment.

'Who said anything about my feelings being hurt,' Kaiba averted his gaze again.

There was a shuffling noise as Tristan got to his feet. A second later he had his hands on Kaiba's shoulders, forcing their gazes to meet.

'I'm sorry, alright; I didn't mean to insult you. I just didn't think you had a problem with people thinking you were arrogant.'

'I don't have a problem with people thinking I'm arrogant,' Kaiba tried to keep his voice as level as possible.

'Then why are you acting like I've just thrown about the worst insult imaginable at you?'

'Because I don't like _you_ thinking I'm arrogant,' pulled away from him. 'It would be the same as Mokuba thinking it.'

'Since when did this _non-labelled_ situation between us put me on a par with your brother?'

'Since when did you have to overanalyse everything I say?' Kaiba glared at him.

'Since...' Tristan hesitated and turned away. 'It doesn't matter.'

He began pulling at the sleeves of his shirt, tugging them down over his hands as far as they would go. It made Kaiba unsure as to whether or not he wanted to kick himself or not for the direction the conversation had taken. All Tristan wanted was some kind of acknowledgement that their association meant something, so why did Kaiba find it so impossible to give it to him? It wasn't as though it was a lie; Tristan did mean something to him, he just didn't understand what that something was and, as much as Kaiba hated to admit it even to himself, that scared him.

'Everything's in position,' Kaiba broke the silence which had formed, 'so long as this eclipse actually happens today we should get the result we're hoping for.'

'With any luck,' Tristan turned his gaze towards the sky, 'but without any powers of our own...'

'It'll work and it's not as though anyone can cancel an eclipse.'

'It's weird,' he lowered his head, 'I miss being able to sense things. I know I hated it. I hated the confusion. Not knowing what I felt and what Win was feeling. I hated every second of it, but now that the power is gone... it's that sense... that knowing sense I miss the most.'

'We'll get the block on our powers lifted eventually, you know that,' Kaiba went to place a hand on his shoulder, but hesitated. 'It's all part of the plan. Plus it's been so much easier for you to sort your head out without them.'

'I know, but in some ways that just makes things harder,' Tristan sighed, 'because I know these feelings I'm having are my own.'

'Here,' Kaiba tapped his arm with the blue stress ball.

'Aren't you worried Mokuba might start asking questions?' Tristan half smirked as he took the ball off of him and began tossing it up and down again.

'Then you just need to make sure you have the right answers,' he shrugged. 'Besides, the eclipse will be starting soon and he'll be far too preoccupied with that to start asking questions.'


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Mokuba stood in the doorway of the room which lay between his and his brothers and sighed. After the events which had occurred a month ago Tristan had packed his belongings and gone to stay with his parents, but in the four weeks which had followed Tristan had spent more nights here than he had at home in order to, as he put it, _escape his parents_.

Okay, so maybe his parents had every right to worry about the son who'd spent the previous three months in a psychiatric hospital, but the way they constantly shifted between walking on eggshells and fussing every five minutes would have been enough to drive anyone crazy. And having seen it firsthand Mokuba didn't blame Tristan for needing an escape. But you would have to have been a complete idiot to think escaping his parents was the only reason Tristan was spending so much time here.

Some instinct made Mokuba pick his way across the room, open the balcony door and step outside. Down in the garden below him were Tristan and his brother. He was too far away to hear any legible part of their conversation, but watching them from this distance just reinforced all the feelings he had about their _friendship_. It was odd and strange and hard to believe, but, even though neither of them would ever admit it, it was clear it made both of them happy.

Mokuba sighed again and rested his arms against the railing in front of him. If the worst part about their _friendship_ was how odd it was, then the best had to be how much more Kaiba was around because of it. If Mokuba had it his way, or at least had the guts to bring it up with them, he would just have Tristan move in. Okay it might raise a few eyebrows. Okay it might force him to acknowledge the uncertain thoughts at the back of his head which questioned just how close the two of them were. But Tristan would be happier without his parents breathing down his neck and Mokuba would be happier because Kaiba would be around more. As for his brother... well if the last few weeks were anything to go by he'd just _be_ happier, wouldn't he?

* * *

Crovell gave a disgruntle squeak and seemed to almost glare at Duke. Duke sighed, shook his head and shot Crovell a sympathetic look.

'I know how you feel; I preferred the outfit I picked out for you too. But tradition is tradition and you should just be grateful what you're wearing actually has sleeves.' He shivered. 'I can't believe it's the middle of winter and I'm wearing nothing but a skirt.'

'It's a kilt, not a skirt,' Covo laughed and shook his head, 'and you should have thought about that before agreeing to wear it.'

'I agreed to wear it, before I knew what _it_ was.' He glared down at the blue and pink Egyptian style kilt he now found himself in. 'If I known the traditional attire you were talking about was a skirt and nothing but a _skirt_, I would asked Crovell to send me home.'

'I told you, it's not a skirt, it's a kilt.'

'Well it's not a pair of trousers, that's all I care.' Duke shivered again. 'And why the hell is it blue and pink anyway?'

'Because those are the colours of the Lutoni house.'

'Wait, Silkoneon houses have their own colours?'

'No just the head four,' Covo smiled. 'The Odrays have white and purple, the Chaosas have black and yellow, the Ashmars have dark green and orange and the Lutonis have…'

'Blue and pink,' Duke cocked an eyebrow, 'what the hell kind of person chose those colours?'

'Makay.'

'So if these kilt things are the proper attire, how come Crovell gets a dress?'

'Tunic,' Covo corrected, 'and that's because he's a member of the Lutoni family, rather than just a Guard of the House, which is what I am and what you're pretending to be.'

'Joey is so going to kill me when he finds out about this, right?' Duke rubbed his arms, trying to warm them up.

'Probably, but it's his own fault for only having one official Guard of the House at the moment. For events like this he needs at least two.'

'Why does he only have one official one right now?'

'To be an official Guard of the House you need to be over a eighteen, he has a couple of unofficial ones who'll take on the roles properly in a few years, but...'

'You're the only one in the plus eighteen bracket,' Duke shivered, 'which technically I'm not in either.'

'Yeah, but you're a lot closer to it than anyone else right now and you are a close personal friend of Veronie's so you're the perfect candidate.'

'Until you remember Joey currently thinks I'm trying to steal his baby away from him,' Duke rolled his eyes.

'You know, I've been meaning to ask you about,' Covo studied him for a moment.

'About what?'

'You're attachment to him. Crovell I mean. The way you act towards him, anyone would think _you_ were his father.'

'Really?'

'Don't play dumb,' Covo folded his arms, 'you wish you were his father, don't you?'

'What?' He laughed in surprise.

'You heard me; given half a chance you'd take that child, run off with him and raise him as your own, wouldn't you? That's why Ahna and Veronie don't trust you round him.'

'Don't be stupid.'

'I don't think I am,' Covo's face was filled with a stern look.

'He's not mine and I know he's not mine,' Duke sighed and stared down at Crovell. 'Sure there's a part of me that wishes he was, but I know he's not and he's not meant to be. My connection to him, as indefinable as it is right now, is not that of a parent. I know it and he knows it, so the chances of me running off into the night with him are almost non-existent.'

'Is it alright if I'm not sure whether or not to believe you?' Covo's face filled with a weird half smile-like look.

'Nobody else seems to, so why not.'

There were a few moments of silence, then Covo gave a heavy sigh.

'The run will begin in just over fifteen minutes, so it's time for us to meet up with the others.'

'Okay,' Duke nodded as he stared back up at him, 'lead the way.'

* * *

Mai couldn't believe how attractive Joey looked dressed in his blue and pink kilt, with a thick matching cloak draped round his shoulders and the light glinting of a curved silver diadem adorning his head. A warm, loving smile stretched across his face the moment he saw her approaching which just added to the overall appeal of his appearance.

'Mai you look beautiful,' he kissed her.

'Well I have Ahna and Korin to thank for that,' she nodded gratefully towards the two girls behind her, 'after all they helped me get ready.'

'It was our pleasure Mai,' Korin beamed.

There was an almost skipping like sound of footsteps approaching them seconds before Catilin came into view. She was dressed in a similar style robe to the one Mai was wearing; only hers was dark green and orange. Behind her followed two young girls, both in green and orange tunics the same style as the ones Ahna and Korin had on.

'Hiet braysta,' she jumped towards him, pulling him into an excited hug.

'Hey Cat,' he laughed hugging her back for a moment, before separating them to a more formal distance.

'Where's Covo?' She glanced around as she quickly assessed the situation.

'He'll be here soon.'

'And do you have another Guard yet?'

'No one else I would have wanted is anywhere near old enough yet,' Joey shook his head. 'So for now Covo will do.'

'But it needs to be three,' Catilin frowned. 'You should know how important three is. It's always three for official stuff.

'I know,' Joey sighed, 'but there really wasn't anyone else who could stand in. None of my unofficial guards even look old enough.'

'What about Duke?' Ahna gave a nervous cough.

'What about Duke?' Joey narrowed his gaze on her.

'Well he's kinda here.'

'What?' Joey's voice was tense with anger. 'Didn't you send him away?'

'I tried, but…' her eyes shifted, 'something stopped me.'

'Ayealor.'

'Look, I know he's far from popular with either of us right now, but… well, why don't you just go with him. For appearance sake.'

'Okay, for a start he's not even Silkoneon and for a second you're supposed to be able to trust your Guards with your life.'

'Mai's not Silkoneon,' Catilin tilted her head to one side, 'and Duke is your friend, so you should be able to trust him, right? And, and, and it's not as if anyone's going to look up and automatically know he's not Silkoneon, right? It'll just be us that knows.'

'Maybe,' Joey gritted his teeth, 'but...'

Before he could finish his sentence, Covo and Duke appeared walking down the corridor towards them. Duke was carrying Crovell and the level of displeased tension in Joey's face couldn't have been more obvious if there was a neon sign attached to it.

'He's already wearing a kilt?' Joey glared at Ahna.

'Well... when I realised I wasn't able to send him away Covo and I thought it might be a good idea to make him blend in a little,' Ahna shifted uncomfortably.

'Well that's just perfect,' his voice seethed more than a little, 'and here I thought I was supposed to have a choice over who my Guards were.'

'Hi Joey,' Duke shot him a wary smile.

'Don't you hi me,' he snapped, 'give Crovell to Ahna and come and stand behind me.'

'What?'

'You heard.' Joey glared at him. 'Now do as I ask or I'll send you home right now.'

Without hesitation Duke did as he was told and once Covo was in position beside him the whole procession made their way out towards the waiting crowd.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

'So what do we do now?' Mai sighed as she watched the pack of wolves disappear.

'We wait for the eclipse,' Catilin stretched her arms up towards the sky and moved her hands together as if imitating the movement of the moon and the sun, 'then we listen to the howling and then we wait for them to return. After that we eat,' she lowered her arms again and bounced on her heels.

'But the eclipse isn't for a while yet,' Mai pulled her face, 'what do we do whilst we're waiting for it?'

'Whatever we want really,' Ahna smiled at her. 'There aren't any definite instructions for the members of the Lutoni household which get left behind.'

'That's probably because normally most of the household are veron,' Covo rubbed his arms. 'Usually it's just the Ashmar and their entourage who get left behind.'

'And we normally go inside and wait,' Catilin bounced. 'Especially when its ice, ice cold like Ni's been on a hellish spree.'

'I thought Ni was your equivalent of the devil or something,' Duke frowned.

'He is, but he's not hot hot hot, he's cold like ice. That's why he rules over Sli.'

'Sli? That means Ice, right? As in the Ice Elemental.'

'Uh-huh,' she nodded, 'Du is the hot one, Ni is the cold one.'

'So in the Tenth Order hell is frozen over?'

'Not all of it,' Catilin shook her head. 'Some bits are, some bits aren't. Some bits are fiery hot; other bits are just like our world. There are cities and towns and all kinds of living places for all kinds of demons.'

'I see,' Duke shivered.

'Maybe we should take this conversation inside,' she frowned at him, 'you look a little frozen.'

'I was just about to suggest that,' Covo gave an edgy laugh as he rubbed his arms again, 'I'm freezing.'

'Funny, I feel quite warm,' Korin teased as she rested her arm on his shoulder.

'You're not the one wearing nothing but a skirt,' he narrowed his gaze on her.

'Don't you mean kilt?' She poked her tongue out at him. 'Or do you only feel the need for correction when I'm the one who gets things wrong?'

'Oh grow up Korin.'

'Yeah Korin,' Ahna's voice was sourly sweet, 'grow up.'

'What was with that?' Covo frowned at her.

'With what?'

'The tone,' he looked hurt and confused, 'you sounded almost... spiteful.'

'It's okay Macar, you don't have to worry about me,' Korin shifted her gaze away. 'I just don't think Ahna likes me very much.'

'Is that true?' Covo stared at Ahna.

'I... I don't know her,' Ahna shook her head. 'I don't have an opinion of her yet.'

'Then what was with the tone?'

'Macar, it's alright, really,' Korin placed a hand on his arm. 'She just probably feels a little threatened by me. I mean, we have known each other forever.'

'Yes but...' Covo cut himself off and sighed. 'Look Ahna,' he glanced towards her, 'there's no reason for you to feel threatened by Korin, really. Just try to get to know her, would you? It's important to me.'

'I'll try,' Ahna shrugged.

'Am I the only one still thinking we need to get inside now,' Duke began hopping from side to side. 'Only I think if I stay out here any longer something will freeze off.'

'Well that wouldn't be good,' Catilin began pushing him back into the building. 'I don't want anything freezing off you Duke; I like you just the way you are.'

* * *

'Why can't you just pick a channel and stick with it?' Téa glared at CL as the constant channel hopping started to give her a migraine.

'Well that's no fun,' CL smirked, 'besides, where I'm from there aren't any channels to flick between. It's all static and trust me that can get more than a little annoying after a while.'

'Is reception really that bad where you're from?' She frowned.

'To have reception you must first have stations broadcasting. For that you need people and there aren't a whole lot of those going around.'

'Why not? What happened to them?'

There was no response, but the handset CL was holding clattered loudly to the ground.

'Are you okay?' She studied him for a moment, before following the direction of his somewhat frozen gaze. 'Hey I know that place,' she gawked at the image of the alleyway the reporter was stood in, 'I normally take that shortcut if I'm walking on my own. Do you know what…?'

The rest of her sentence was cut off by the volume on the TV rising of its own accord.

'It is believed the girl has completely lost vision in one eye and will only ever regain partial sight in the other,' the reporter's voice blared through the speakers. 'On top of this, she will be left with severe facial scarring and limited movement in her left side.'

'Oh my god,' Téa placed a hand over her mouth.

'What did I do,' CL's voice was so quiet, Téa wasn't completely sure if he'd spoken or not. 'This wasn't supposed to happen. I wasn't being selfish,' his voice gradually got louder. 'I was trying to make things better. That shouldn't have changed another's fate. This isn't fair. This...' suddenly his voice cut out and a dead, glassy glaze appeared across his eyes.

'What the…?' Téa rushed over to him. 'CL? CL, are you alright? CL?'

* * *

'This wasn't supposed to happen. You promised me there wouldn't be any consequences for saving her.'

'Jo...' CL turned towards her, 'I didn't think...'

'When do you ever think,' she cut him off. 'You promised me there would be no consequences, that was the only reason I agreed to let you try and change her fate. Trying to create a better future for us shouldn't be at the cost of someone else's.'

'You mean that same someone else who's probably dead now anyway?'

'That's not the point,' Jo's voice was so sharp it cut through every part of CL.

'I was just trying to do something good,' CL gritted his teeth. 'I was trying to make sure our future was everything it could be and we both agreed that meant sparing her too. I was trying to do good Jo, you know that.'

'Yeah, well men have died for you trying to do good, C, _you_ should know that.'

'You think it's possible for me to forget?' He moved towards her. 'You think I wanted this to happen? You think I enjoy seeing people get hurt? You have watched me cry over every single person who's laid their life down for me and I'm doing what I'm doing now for them. To make sure their sacrifices haven't been in vain. But even I can't save them all Jo.'

'So this is just another noble sacrifice, is it C?'

'I'm sorry I let you down Jo, but I really didn't think there would be any consequences. Nothing else we've done so far has paid such a high price,' he placed his hands on her shoulders.

'Really,' she pressed her hands against her stomach, 'because it feels to me like everything we're doing is paying a high price.'

'In the end it'll be our sacrifice though Jo,' his hands cupped her face, 'one life for another in order to change our hell into a proper future. Because at the end of the day we're not doing this for us, we're doing this for them.'

* * *

Yugi had been sat in his room meditating. It had been the Face of Friendship's idea and one Yugi had been glad to go along with when she explained the forces at work during a solar eclipse were similar to those he would experience during a heavy thunderstorm. The pre-emptive mediation theoretically should help him stay on top of his empathic abilities which would actually allow him to enjoy the eclipse.

He was just bringing himself back to a normal state of consciousness, when Téa's shouting caused him to jump in alarm. Instantly he was on his feet and charging into the living room where he'd left both of his guests.

'What's wrong?'

'CL,' Téa stared at him, 'he... he's...'

Yugi turned his attention towards CL, who was hanging upside down on the couch. He was so still it didn't even look like he was breathing and his eyes had a dead, glassy glaze to them which made Yugi shudder in horror.

'What... what happened?'

'I don't know,' Téa shook her head, 'one minute he was… saying something and the next.'

'Is he breathing?' Yugi began to examine him. 'Does he have a pulse?'

'I…'

The second Yugi reached for CL's wrist he gave a loud and sudden gasp which made both Yugi and Téa jump. He then turned himself round into a sitting position and massaged his temples for a few moments.

'Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you both,' CL rubbed his face wearily before flicking his gaze up towards them.

'Are you... are you alright?' Yugi swallowed hard.

'Yeah, I'm fine.'

'Thank god,' Téa threw her arms around him in relief.

'Okay, awkward,' CL's whole body became visibly tense.

'Sorry,' she pulled herself away.

'Look, I don't mind you worrying about me, it's just...'

'Just what?' She frowned.

'You've never hugged me like that before.'

'I've never hugged you before, period,' Téa cocked an eyebrow.

'Oh, yeah, right,' CL nervously scratched the back of his neck and shifted his gaze away.

'So what happened to you just now?' Yugi took a seat next to him.

'It's kinda complicated,' he shrugged, 'and, honestly, it's nothing for you to worry about.'

'Well as long as you're okay now I guess it doesn't matter,' Téa beamed at him.

'Yeah, okay, that's just creepy,' CL shifted uncomfortably.

'Huh?'

'Look, Téa, I'm flattered but I... I'm kinda involved with someone, so if you could just back off a little bit.'

'I... I wasn't...' Téa shook her head.

'Sorry, maybe I just misread the signals a little there.'

Téa was about to say something back to him, when Yugi's Grandpa poked his head into the room.

'Are you kids coming outside to watch the eclipse?'

'Sure, we'll be out in a minute,' Yugi smiled, more than a little relived the conversation they were having was over.

'They will be, but I won't,' CL's whole body tensed again.

'Why not?'

'Because the moon makes the wolves howl.'

'What?'

'It doesn't matter,' he shook his head, 'let's just say it's safer for everybody if I don't go out there and leave it at that.'


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

As soon as the curved edge of the moon began covering the sun, the distant sound of howling drifted towards them. From the very first note of it Ahna found herself smiling down at the baby in her arms as a small amount of pride swirled through her.

'Your Daddy's leading that, can you hear him?'

Crovell made several happy chirps and gurgles which made Ahna wonder, not for the first time, just how much of what was going on Crovell really understood.

'It's beautiful, isn't it?' Catilin danced playfully around in front of them as though the howling itself were some kind of enchanting melody.

'Well it's different, I'll give you that,' Duke had a strangely soft smile on his face as he watched her, 'and definitely not the way I thought I would be enjoying the eclipse,' he pulled the blanket he'd been given tighter around him.

'But a much better way though, right?' Catilin grabbed hold of his hands and tried to get him to dance around with her.

'Different,' he tried to resist her, 'memorable.'

'Special,' she giggled, 'magical.'

As a dark shadow swept across the land, Catilin gave up trying to get Duke to dance with her and went back to dancing on her own. The sound of the wolves howling continued unbroken and Ahna felt a strange tingling sensation move through her body as all other sounds began to die away.

'It's almost eerie when you think about it,' Korin stared up at the sky, 'the eclipse I mean. For a brief moment Sta will control the daytime sky as Du fights back for control against him.'

'All to the sound of wolves howling,' Catilin grabbed hold of her arms and managed to swing her round in a full circle.

'Yes, all to the sound of wolves howling,' Korin laughed as she broke free of Catilin's grip and did her best not to fall over.

'The howling is so pretty,' Catilin clapped her hands together, 'I wish I could hear it every day.'

A slim smile pulled at Ahna's lips as the moon finally fell into place over the sun. But just as everything became as cool and dark as night the distant sound of howling fell silent. For the longest heartbeat there was complete and utter silence. Catilin had come to a rigid standstill and everyone else was exchanging nervous glances. The tension was finally broken by the sound of Crovell crying.

'Hey, hey, hey little one, it's alright,' she soothed, 'it's alight.'

'What's going on?' Covo's voice was tight. 'Why have they stopped?'

'This isn't right, this isn't right,' Catilin shook her head. 'The wolves don't stop howling. They don't.'

Crovell's crying became louder.

'Shh,' Ahna hushed him, 'it's okay, it's okay.'

'It's not okay, it's not,' Catilin shook her head. 'The wolves have stopped howling. They shouldn't have stopped. This isn't right. Something's wrong.'

'Shh,' Ahna continued to sooth Crovell, 'calm down little one, it's okay.'

'This is wrong, wrong, wrong,' Catilin's whole body trembled as the moon continued in its orbit passed the sun, 'the wolves always howl. Always.'

* * *

Without any warning Mokuba felt his blood turn cold. Several sharp pains, like ice being stabbed into his heart, pounded against his chest making his whole body feel rigid and strange. He gripped hold of his top and moved backwards, but the movement just increased the ice cold tension of his body.

'Mokuba are you alright?' Tristan placed a hand on his shoulder.

'I… I don't know,' Mokuba shook his head, 'something feels wrong. Something feels very, very wrong.'

'Should we go back inside?' Tristan and Kaiba exchanged a worried glance.

'Please,' he could hear the desperation in his own voice, 'I want to be anywhere but out here right now.'

* * *

It had been a good fifteen minutes since they'd brought him inside and Mokuba was still lying motionlessly on the bed as if someone had come along and sucked the life out of him. It made Tristan feel more than a little uncomfortable, it reminded him too much of his own depression and he wished Kaiba hadn't been so quick to disappear and leave him to deal with Mokuba.

Figuring the kid would probably be okay on his own for a little while, Tristan stalked off in search of Kaiba. He knew exactly where he would be, which only increased his own agitation in more ways than one.

'Did it work?'

'I think so,' Kaiba glanced towards him, 'but it'll still be a couple of months before we'll know for sure, unless of course we ask him for his help.'

'I thought you wanted to keep him out of it as much as possible,' Tristan folded his arms.

'I do, it's just...' he stared down at the object on the table in front of him, 'so beautiful.'

'Of course it is,' Tristan moved towards him, 'something this powerful couldn't be anything but beautiful. But we both know...'

'I know,' Kaiba cut him off. 'So how is Mokuba?'

'Does that mean you actually care?'

'Of course I care,' Kaiba glared at him, 'he's my brother.'

'Then why did you leave me to deal with him? Why didn't you let me check on this whilst you took care of him?'

'Because, in case you'd forgotten, I don't exactly do the bedside manner thing particularly well.'

'So you leave your suicidally depressed companion to lead the cheer-up squad?' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at him.

'You are _not_ suicidal anymore,' Kaiba's expression was as tight as his voice. 'You're not allowed to be.'

'I'm sorry, I didn't realise I needed your permission,' Tristan rolled his eyes.

No sooner than he had he found himself slammed back up against the wall behind him with Kaiba gripping at his collar. The look on his face was frightening, but it was hard to tell exactly what emotions were driving it.

'This isn't a game Tristan, I don't...' he stopped himself as his expression changed into a less scary and even more unreadable one.

'You don't, what?' Tristan frowned at him.

Kaiba shook his head as his grip on Tristan's shirt loosened.

'Seto...?'

Some instinct made Tristan reach out towards a stray hair on Kaiba's face and sweep it away, but as soon as he did Kaiba pulled back and returned to the table.

'You're right; we shouldn't get Mokuba involved with this. It's too soon and I'm not sure he'd understand.'

'Probably not,' Tristan took a step towards him, then hesitated. 'So we just have to be patient and wait, right?'

'Right,' Kaiba nodded, 'this is all about the waiting now.'

* * *

Mai had paced the flagstones in the courtyard so many times she felt like she was starting to wear a groove into them. It had been two hours now since the eclipse had ended and not one single canine was in sight. If this run had gone the way it was supposed to they should have been arriving back now, so where were they?

'Why aren't hiet braysta and the others back yet?' Catilin wrapped her arms around her legs as she sat on the stone steps leading into the Southern Palace. 'Mai, where are they?'

'I don't know,' she stopped her pacing just long enough to note it was only the two of them out here now.

'They stopped howling,' her eyes glistened with tear. 'Everything was buzzing and humming and magical and then they stopped howling and it all went away. It all went away Mai, why did it all go away?'

'I don't know,' Mai shook her head.

'It was all buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, buzzing, like music. It was all magical and then... then it all stopped. It all stopped. The magic went away, the buzzing went away, the howling stopped. Everything shh, silence. Why did that happen Mai? Why did it all go away?'

'Catilin please,' she stared hopelessly at her, 'I have trouble following you when you talk like this at the best of times, I really don't know what you're trying to say right now. I'm just so worried about Joey.'

'I want hiet braysta to come back now,' Catilin's lower lip trembled. 'Everything's wrong and I don't like it here without him.'

* * *

'Hey lus braysta, feeling any better?' Tristan perched on the windowsill opposite him.

Mokuba shook his head and remained staring almost blankly at some point on the ground.

'Your brother and I are both worried about you,' he folded his arms, 'he wanted to be here too, but I told him his bedside manner totally sucks so he'd be better off letting me see how you are. But... if you want I can get him for you.'

Mokuba shrugged and continued in his silence.

'You know... you know you can talk to me, right? I may not know exactly what you're going through but...'

'What did it feel like?' Mokuba cut him off.

'What?'

'What did it feel like... when you tried to kill yourself... what did it feel like?'

'Why...?' Tristan's whole body tensed.

'Did you feel sad?' Mokuba cut him off again. 'Did every single part of you hurt? Or were you just completely numb to everything?'

'Mokuba...?'

'How did it feel Tristan? When you tried to kill yourself, what did it feel like?' His gaze lifted to meet with Tristan's.

'Like a way out,' Tristan turned his gaze away and gripped the material above his stomach. 'It felt like a way out. Like the only way out. I know... I know death wouldn't have allowed me to escape from what I was feeling, but... the dead and the living don't have to interact and that... that's what I wanted more than anything. Because even if it didn't change the way I was feeling at least it wouldn't matter anymore.'

'Was it easy?'

'The decision or the act?'

'Both.'

'No,' Tristan shook his head, 'at least not the first time. But when that failed...' he leant his head back against the window behind him and stared up at the ceiling. 'It was stupid, after the third attempt I knew the multiverse was conspiring to keep me alive, but I still kept trying anyway. The first few doctors I saw thought my failed attempts were giving me a deluded sense of immortality and that's why I kept trying. Truth was I was trying to prove to myself that it really wasn't my time to die. I wanted it so badly I just couldn't believe... I couldn't believe I wasn't meant to have it.'

'You must have been in so much pain,' Mokuba's voice was dull.

'I was,' Tristan flicked his gaze towards him, 'and if it wasn't for your brother I still would be. As much as he'd hate for either of us to acknowledge it, he really did save me.'

The words made Mokuba burst into tears.

'Hey,' Tristan started from his spot on the windowsill and moved towards him, 'what's wrong?'

Mokuba shook his head and kept crying. Tristan placed a hand on his shoulder and did his best to comfort him.

'Mokuba please talk to me, what's wrong with you? Is it something I said? I'm sorry if I upset you, but... you wanted to know, right? Please... please tell me what's wrong.'

'It's too much,' Mokuba's words strained through his sobs.

'What is?'

'I don't know. I don't know. I just know it hurts.'

'Mokuba...?'

'It hurts. It hurts. Make it stop hurting,' Mokuba threw his arms around Tristan, the suddenness of his action made Tristan jump.

'I... I don't know how Mokuba... I don't know what's wrong.'

'Everything's wrong. Everything. Make it stop hurting. Please. Make it stop.'


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Everyone had changed back into their normal clothes and were just hung around the Southern Palace's nicely sized kitchen when Catilin entered. Ahna could tell at one glance just how tired and miserable she was feeling and, despite the thickness of the robes she was wearing, she was still shivering from the long exposure to the wintery world outside.

'Is Mai still out there,' Duke pulled out the chair next to him for Catilin.

'Mmhmm,' she nodded as she took a seat, 'she said she won't come back in till hiet braysta returns. Where did my girls go,' her eyes glanced around at the room's occupants.

'I dismissed them a while ago,' Ahna shot her a weary smile, 'I figured we would need to talk out of their earshot sooner or later. Unfortunately I couldn't get rid of everyone,' her eyes indicated towards Korin.

'She's fine to stay,' Covo ran his fingers back through his hair, 'I can vouch for her.'

'I need vouching for now?' Korin frowned at him. 'Is something going on here I don't know about?'

'It's complicated Korin, but for now it's probably a good idea you just listen and don't ask questions. I'll explain what I can to you after.'

'Or you could just send her away and not have to explain anything to her at all,' Ahna could hear the tension in her own voice. 'She doesn't need to know any of this.'

'Yes she does,' Catilin's voice was small but poignant, 'she should stay.'

'This is bad, isn't it?' Duke's words echoed the unspoken thoughts Ahna was certain they were all sharing. 'I mean, it's not just the wolves who are missing here, it's the First.'

'What?' Korin laughed. 'What do you mean _it's the First_? Since when was the First missing?'

'Remember what I told you about not asking questions Korin,' Covo shot her a look, 'I meant it. For now just listen, I'll explain everything to you later.'

'But...'

'Please Korin.'

'Alright Macar, no more questions, for now.'

'Why do you keep calling him Macar?' Duke frowned. 'I thought his name was Covo.'

'Macar's his first name,' Korin stared at him, 'Macar was a Temple dweller, surely you know it's traditional for them to go by their last names.'

'Not really...'

'But you're Silkoneon, how can you not know?'

'I'm not...' Duke shook his head.

'He's a Standing.' Covo's voice was dry.

'No, he...' Korin hesitated, 'he must spend an awful lot of time round our kind then. He senses like one of us, you must feel it Macar.'

'You know I don't,' Covo shook his head, 'that gift is unique to you.'

'You're also not the first person to tell me something like that,' Duke frowned, 'Cayoon thought the same when I met her. Maybe it has something to do with my connection to Crovell.'

'You would just love that, wouldn't you,' Ahna rolled her eyes, wishing she could push down the knowing waves of guilt eating at her.

Duke gave an edgy laugh and turned his gaze away.

'So what do we thinks going on here?' Duke coughed nervously. 'I mean, could it be Win and the Pure again?'

'What?' Korin's jaw hung open. 'You think the Pure could have something to do with it? And... who's Win?'

'They have no powers right now,' Catilin shook her head. 'You can't do something like this with no powers.'

'What?' Korin's eyes were open as wide as her mouth.

'They _have_ powers, they're just blocked from use within their host's bodies right now,' Covo corrected her. 'And besides, the way I understand it there's more than one Win.'

'What?'

'But Mokuba's too little, he wouldn't do anything bad,' Catilin shook her head.

'You were still a kid when Octan turned you into a killer,' Ahna pulled a face. 'I'm not saying they would try something similar with Mokuba, but we can't exactly rule it out either.'

'Okay, I feel like my head's about to explode,' Korin crushed her hands against her skull. 'Macar how the hell do you expect me to sit here and not comment on this?'

'Because right now you have to,' he smiled weakly at her.

'Or I could go out and check on Mai,' she got up from the table. 'Yeah, that sounds like a really good idea to me. I'll go check on Mai and when I get back you can explain this whole insane mess to me, because right now all I'm getting is a headache and no answers.'

* * *

Every inch of Mai felt cold through, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave the courtyard. It didn't matter that the light was starting to fade. It didn't matter that the temperature was rapidly dropping below zero. Nothing mattered as long as Joey was still missing. Nothing.

'Mai I can practically feel the frost freezing across the ground,' Korin placed a hand on Mai's shoulder, making her start, 'you really need to come in now.'

'Not till Joey's back,' she was too numb to correct herself for the sake of a Silkoneon she barely knew.

'But... you could be out here all night Mai,' Korin sounded worried, 'you'll catch your death.'

'I don't care,' she jutted her chin out stubbornly, 'they were supposed to be back hours ago.'

'I know…'

'So they should be here,' her whole body trembled. 'They should be here, inside, with all that food, feasting right now. This was supposed to be a good day; Joey's been looking forward to it for weeks; when he hasn't been spying on his best friend or worrying about this, that and the other that is,' her eyes brimmed with tears. 'He's supposed to be here enjoying it.'

'I know...'

'Where is he?' Mai turned her gaze towards Korin as tears began rolling down her face. 'Where is he? Why isn't he here? Where is he?'

* * *

Tristan felt more than a little numb as he entered Kaiba's home office and pressed his back against the wall opposite the desk. Kaiba was so engrossed in what he was doing he didn't even notice his entrance and for a long couple of minutes there was complete and utter silence.

'I thought you said you didn't have that much work to catch up on,' Tristan kept his voice calm and level. 'You've only taken the one day off _and_ you spent all of yesterday snowed under from what I remember.'

'The Pure seems to think something's about to happen,' Kaiba glanced up at him. 'So I figured it would be a good idea to get myself a little ahead in case I need to take more time off this week.'

'That sounds like a good idea to me,' Tristan rested his head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. 'Win thinks Mai and Catilin are in pain.'

'Why?'

'He can sense it, but because the magical block on my body limits the range of his powers its not overwhelming. Mokuba, on the other hand, doesn't have anywhere near as much luck. Worse still he doesn't understand what's happening so all he feels is pain.'

'I see,' Kaiba clasped his hands in front of him for a moment and returned his gaze to the monitor in front of him. 'So what do we do?'

'_We_ don't do anything. You're the one Mokuba needs more than anything right now.'

'But we agreed I have no bedside manner and he's clearly responding to you.'

'Yeah, by asking me what it was like to try and kill myself,' Tristan lowered his gaze. 'I want to help Seto, but I can't deal with that. Not on top of trying to comfort him too. You have to deal with him; I need to get out of this house for a while.'

Kaiba was silent and Tristan found himself playing with the sleeves of his top, pulling them down over his hands and twisting them.

'I should sleep at home tonight,' Tristan's voice was as dry as it was mute. 'I'm spending way too much time here and you're becoming too reliant on me to take care of your little brother, when it's you he needs more than anything.'

Kaiba remained silent.

'Unless something major comes up, I might just stay away for a few days.'

'If that's what you want,' Kaiba's voice was level but strangely quiet.

'It's not,' Tristan pressed his lips together, 'it's really, really not.'

'Then don't, nobody's asking you to stay away.'

'But they're not asking me to stay either,' Tristan allowed his gaze to wonder around the room as he tried his best to keep all emotions out of his voice.

'I'm sure Mokuba won't want you staying away for that long, not if he's as upset as you're making out,' Kaiba's tone wavered a little.

'But I don't...' Tristan cut himself off. 'You don't get it do you? You just don't get it.'

'Tristan...?'

'I'm going home Seto,' he turned away from him and made his way back towards the door, 'I'll see you in a few days.'


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

It had been a long and fitful night, but somehow Mai had gotten through it. She wasn't sure when, but she knew at some point she'd managed to drift off to sleep. It was the only way to explain the heavy, half awake state she now found herself in. A part of her didn't want to leave it. Leaving it would mean having to face the reality that Joey was still missing and she really didn't want to have to do that.

As she lay there in a self induced lull, she felt a weight press down on her stomach. Before she had a chance to react someone had pinned her arms behind her head and rested their forehead on her own. Her eyes flicked open to meet with his, causing him to pull his head back and grin down at her.

'Joey?' Mai felt as though she could cry.

'Good morning,' the words rolled out of his mouth with an almost purr-like rumble to them.

'Don't you good morning me,' her voice toned with a strange mixture of anger and relief, 'I've been worried sick about you. Where have you been?'

'Oh it was amazing Mai,' his eyes glistened with excitement, 'we ran and ran and ran, till I thought we couldn't run anymore. And then the howling,' his face filled with a wild look, 'it was amazing. The most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. I never wanted it to stop. But it did, it did and it was like my blood was boiling. Like electricity was running through my veins. But it was a good feeling. Like nothing I've ever felt before. You should have been there Mai. You should of… you should of…'

'Joey you're not making any sense,' Mai shook her head.

'Oh Mai, I don't know if I'll ever make any sense ever again.' There was something about his excited intonations which reminded Mai a little too much of Catilin. 'I feel so alive. And… and…' his eyes flickered from side to side as he studied her, 'you smell good this morning. I mean, you always do, but…' he leant down and kissed her, 'you taste good too.'

'Joey,' she laughed almost nervously as he nuzzled into her neck, 'what's gotten into you?'

He didn't reply, instead he continued to nuzzle and kiss her neck. A soft smile began to pull at her lips and she started to relax a little. Okay he'd scared the hell out of her, but he was back now and he was safe.

'Ow,' she pulled away from him as a sharp pain clipped her ear, 'that hurt.'

The look of confusion on Joey's face as he stared down at her was almost surreal. It was as if he didn't totally understand what she'd said. The thought was so uncomfortable she shook it from her mind and tried to tell herself he'd not realised how hard he'd bitten or something. Just as she was about to say something he leant down and kissed her; only it wasn't his normal gentle, loving kiss, it was hard and aggressive. When it ended his eyes were filled with a wild look Mai had never seen in them before. His grip on her wrists tightened and she could feel his nails slowly digging into her flesh.

'Joey…' she tried to keep the tremor of fear out of her voice, 'Joey you're hurting me.'

Ignoring her, he began nuzzling at her neck again.

'Joey, please, you're hurting me.' She tried to lift herself up, but he just slammed her back down. 'Joey please,' her heart started to race, 'please don't do this. This isn't like you.'

He continued to ignore her, leaving Mai with a strange feeling of certainty that he simply couldn't understand her anymore. She tried to struggle against him but he was too strong.

'Joey...'

His body shifted as he began nuzzling the other side of her neck. Less than a second later he yelped in pain and leapt back off of her. Her eyes met with his as he whimpered and whined with confusion; his face filled with the look of a hurt and confused puppy-dog.

'Joey…?'

Mai reached a trembling hand towards him, but before she could do anything else he turned and fled the room. In her chest she could still feel her heart pounding heavily and her breathing was shallow and jagged. A slight sob came out of her as several conflicting emotions raced through her body. She didn't know what was more painful; the thought he couldn't understand her or the thought he'd almost...

Almost. The word felt heavy inside her mind. He'd almost done something terrible but he hadn't. He hadn't because something had stopped him. The only question now was what. Some instinct made her pat the back of her left shoulder. Within seconds she placed her hand on something solid. Bringing it round to the front she found herself clasping the falcon shaped pendent.

'I guess I forgot to take it off last night,' the words sounded as numb as she felt. 'But I... I don't understand... Joey... why... why are you acting like this?'

* * *

'Are you sure you should be going to see him now?'

'This was something we all agreed on Jo,' he shot a look in her direction, 'whatever it takes to stop the heartless fiend before he becomes a monster. Who knows, maybe the effects will be instantaneous.'

'I doubt it.'

'Then you'd just better make sure they're really ready to take him out this time, because if they're not...'

'Don't worry; we're all aware just how much damage the gutless wonder could cause. He'll be dealt with.'

'He'd better Jo; things are going to be hard enough as it is without him interfering too.'

'You don't need to tell me.'

'Good, now would you kindly get out of my head?'

The lack of a reply caused him to sigh gratefully. He was now stood outside of the front door to a building he'd only ever visited twice before. It was weird seeing it so intact and felt like a strangely harsh reminded of everything their world had gone through. But there was no time to dwell on unimportant details. He rang the bell and waited a few moments for the door to be answered.

'I was wondering when you would show up again,' Tristan half glared out at him.

'Can I come in?'

'Do I have a choice?' Tristan narrowed his gaze.

'Not really,' he shook his head.

'Then I guess I'm letting you in,' he stepped aside.

He gave Tristan a grateful nod as he pulled past him into the house. He then waited for Tristan to close the front door and lead him towards the living room.

'So CL, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company this morning?'

'What, no offer of a drink or even a seat first?' CL cocked an eyebrow at him. 'And I thought I was the one without any manners.'

'I'm really not in the mood for this this morning CL,' Tristan gritted his teeth.

'I can see that,' he folded his arms, 'and I'm not trying to ruin your morning, but a few manners wouldn't exactly go amiss. Wow, I never thought I'd be the one saying that sentence, to you of all people.'

'CL...'

'Sorry,' CL flopped himself down onto the couch and allowed himself to glance around the living room for a few moments.

'So are you going to tell me what this is about or not?' Tristan took a seat in the armchair to the right of the couch.

'I need you to go see the Kaiba brothers.'

'You what?' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at him.

'I need you to go see the Kaiba brothers, this morning preferably,' CL pressed his lips together. 'See today is the day which starts Mokuba's slow descent into evil and I need you to do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn't happen.'

For a few long moments Tristan just stared at him. Then he blinked strangely and a disbelieving smirk appeared on his face.

'I'm sorry, what?'

'See where I'm from the eclipse had a weird effect on Mokuba, who was already feeling neglected and more than marginally frustrated with his brother and the Pure. For some reason the conversation which conspired between the two Kaiba brothers today caused Mokuba to go running into the arms of _her_.'

'Who?' Tristan frowned.

'The First,' CL felt himself spitting out the words.

'You really don't like her, do you?'

'Of course I don't,' he gritted his teeth, 'she let my father die, but that's nothing compared to what she lets _him_ get away with. Sometimes I don't know which one I hate more,' he could feel his face crinkle into a snarl, 'Mokuba or the First.'

'So you want me to do what, exactly? Stop Seto from talking to his brother?'

'No,' CL shook his head, 'I just want you to be there when he does. I want you to do whatever it takes to keep Mokuba happy. If he's happy then he won't feel the need to run to _her_. And trust me that's the last thing you want to happen for so many reasons.'

'What makes you think me being there will make such a difference?'

'Because the odds of Mokuba staying have already been greatly improved because the two of you have better control over _them_ this time. The first time round the Pure caused so much trouble because she just couldn't help herself,' CL sighed, 'I know she doesn't set out to be so manipulative, but once she has her claws into a situation...' he shook his head. 'Still things are different this time, so if you can keep Mokuba happy then... then it's one more step in the right direction and a brighter future we'll all have because of it.'


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

When Mokuba hadn't come down for breakfast, Kaiba realised he really was going to have to talk to him. But something about the thought didn't exactly settle right. It wasn't that dealing with his brother on an emotional level was difficult, it was just he knew he wasn't exactly the most intuitive in figuring out what his brother needed. With Tristan it had been easy, there was no need for him to play nice so he could be as harsh as he liked and get away with it. Mokuba required a much more subtle touch and getting that balance right was not going to be easy.

'Have you spoken to Mokuba yet?'

The sound of Tristan's voice made him jump. Kaiba's eyes went up towards the doorway. Tristan was leant against the doorframe with his gaze lowered and shifted to one side.

'I thought you were staying away for a couple of days.'

'I was.'

'So...?'

'The kid came to see me this morning,' Tristan shrugged, 'he's got it into his head that if I let you talk to Mokuba on his own he's going to turn evil or something. So I figured I should come and make sure that doesn't happen.'

'Hmm,' Kaiba folded his arms and lowered his head slightly, 'the kid said something similar to me; about Mokuba going evil I mean. It's kind of hard to believe.'

'I know, but I wouldn't want his prediction coming true. Mokuba actually lets me consider him a friend and I'd hate to lose that.'

Kaiba felt the dig stab at him like a pick through the heart, but he gritted his teeth and tried to ignore it.

'Shall we then,' Tristan turned away from him.

Before Kaiba could even answer he made his way out of the doorway and towards the staircase leading upstairs. Kaiba gave a heavy sigh and followed after him. Within a few minutes they were outside of Mokuba's room. He gave a gentle tap on the door and waited.

'Come in,' the dull sound his brother's voice sounded from within.

He opened the door to see Mokuba lying on the bed with his back to them and his gaze staring out of the window. Without hesitation Tristan made his way towards the window and leant against the wall next to it with his arms folded. Kaiba took a deep breath in before perching himself on the end of Mokuba's bed.

'How are you feeling this morning?' Kaiba tried to keep his tone as level as possible.

'Tired,' Mokuba's voice remained dull, 'so very, very tired. I'm not sure I even slept last night.'

'Do you have any idea what's wrong?' Tristan studied him for a moment.

'No,' Mokuba shook his head, 'it was like I could feel all this pain, but I had no idea where it was coming from.'

'Was like?' Kaiba picked up on his words. 'You mean you're not feeling it anymore?'

'Right now I just feel tired and numb,' Mokuba's fingers twisted into the material of the blanket beneath him. 'But...'

'But...?'

'I know this is going to sound crazy, but I think something happened during the eclipse. Something which wasn't supposed to.'

'Something like what?' Kaiba and Tristan exchanged nervous glances.

'I don't know. Something big. It was like...' Mokuba hesitated for a moment, 'it was like the air was buzzing and then it stopped.' He laughed numbly. 'How much like Catilin did I just sound?'

'Too much,' Tristan smirked a little, 'I think we might need to call someone in to have that checked out.'

Mokuba laughed again, a little less dully this time.

'So is there anything we can do to make you feel better?' Kaiba ventured.

'Yeah, I mean do you want us to try and get hold of Yugi or Joey and find out if anything really did happen?' Tristan tilted his head to one side.

'No,' Mokuba shook his head, 'if whatever it is caused so much pain I don't want to know what it is. I know that sounds crazy, but... I don't want to feel that much pain again. Besides if we need to know I'm sure they'll contact us anyway.'

'Okay,' Tristan nodded, 'so is there anything else we can do.'

'Yes, but...'

'But what?'

'I'm not sure how either of you are going to feel about it,' he half sat up and flicked his gaze between the two of them. 'But I've been thinking about it, a lot, not just today or yesterday, but for the last week or so.'

'What is it Mokuba?' Kaiba frowned.

'Promise you won't freak out when I tell you?'

'Why would I freak out,' Kaiba felt his stomach clench anxiously.

'Because I... I... uh... I want Tristan to move in.'

'What?' He laughed in surprise, feeling bizarrely relieved as he did.

'I want Tristan to move in,' Mokuba's expression was serious.

'Mokuba your brother's never going to agree to that,' Tristan gave a heavy sigh. 'Besides it's not like I'm not here all the time anyway.'

'Exactly,' he nodded emphatically, 'it'll just make it official, that's all I'm asking.'

'But...'

'He can stay,' Kaiba cut Tristan off.

'What?' Tristan laughed.

'You can stay,' Kaiba met his gaze, 'I have no problem with you living here. Like you said, you're pretty much here all the time anyway, so why not?'

'Is that really what _you_ want?'

'I wouldn't be saying it else.'

There was a beat of silence and a slim smile appeared on Tristan's face. He lowered his head slightly to hide it, but it didn't change the fact Kaiba knew it was there.

'So you're moving in then?' Mokuba focused his gaze on Tristan.

'I guess so.'

'Yes,' the joy in Mokuba's voice made a good change from his previous monotone statements. 'Thank you,' he glanced towards his brother, 'I know agreeing to do this for me probably wasn't easy for you.'

Kaiba shrugged and averted his gaze. He didn't really want the others knowing how he really felt about the situation, but it definitely wasn't as hard to agree to as Mokuba might have thought.

'We should celebrate,' Mokuba pulled himself off of the bed, 'or eat at any rate,' he laughed as his stomach grumbled. 'I don't think I've had anything since yesterday morning. I'm starved.'

'You go downstairs and let the cook know we'll all be eating,' Kaiba kept his voice level, 'we'll be down in a minute.'

'Okay.'

With that he left the room, leaving Tristan and Kaiba silently avoiding each other's gaze. Time ticked by almost unnoticed, making the situation increasingly awkward and uncomfortable.

'So you do want me around then,' Tristan's voice was almost too loud against the silence which had preceded it.

Kaiba shrugged and tried to think of ways to avoid giving a direct answer.

'My parents aren't going to be happy.'

'Do you really care?' Kaiba studied him for a moment.

'They're my parents, I'm required to care.' Tristan wrapped his arms around himself and stared at a point on the wall to the right of him. 'I'm not sure they're going to believe I'm doing this for Mokuba. And that is why I'm doing it, right? For Mokuba. You only want me here to keep him happy.'

Kaiba could feel the muscles in his neck tense as all words stuck to the back of his throat. He couldn't bring himself to answer the question, but there was no way he could just avoid it either.

'Damnit,' the word exploded through the tension as Tristan hit his fists against the wall behind him, 'sometimes I think you're just doing this to torture me.'

'Doing what?' Kaiba stared at him in confusion.

'This,' Tristan met his gaze for a moment, before sighing heavily and turning his head away again. 'It doesn't matter.'

'Tristan...'

'I said it doesn't matter,' Tristan gave a dismissive flick of his hand. 'Even if I'm only moving in for Mokuba's sake, this is where I want to be. And not because I want to get away from my parents either; I know they love me and I know the crazy way they've been acting is just their way of showing it. But that place doesn't feel like home anymore.'

'And here does?'

'Do you care?' Tristan shrugged and kept his gaze shifted away.

'I...' his throat became dry and his tongue felt like it was glued in place. 'I wish you would stop asking me that,' his hands balled into fists. 'Why can't you just accept this situation for what it is? Why do you have to keep pushing for more all the time? I like the way things are now; there are no labels, no definitions, no complications. I like things this way, because it's easy.'

'This coming from someone who preaches endlessly about how difficult life is,' Tristan rolled his eyes. 'Well maybe I want this to be complicated. Maybe I need this to be complicated because I...' he cut himself off. 'It doesn't matter.'

Kaiba was growing to hate those words. As much as he didn't want Tristan to say anything else, every time he heard them he felt like he was somehow responsible for creating something altogether more miserable. Tristan gave a heavy sigh and pulled himself away from the wall. He then slowly started making his way out of the room. As he passed Kaiba placed a hand on his arm to stop him. In his head he knew exactly what he wanted to say; but those words would never make it passed his lips. Instead he just held Tristan's gaze for what felt like an eternity, before lowering his arm and staring out of the window.

As Tristan left the room Kaiba felt like kicking himself. Or maybe he just felt like kicking down the giant wall he was hiding behind. He was Seto Kaiba. Seto _freaking_ Kaiba. He didn't take the easy way out just because it was there; he kicked down doors and did whatever it took to get what he wanted. Life was a battle and he was a fighter. So why... why couldn't he just man up and show he had emotions at his disposal other than arrogance and anger?

Kaiba gave a heavy sigh and begrudgingly accept the internal answer to his own question; people had no problems exploiting weaknesses in others. It was why Mokuba was such an overused target by those wanting to get under his skin. The last thing he needed was another weakness for other people to exploit, so it was better just to keep burying it and hope no one noticed it was there. But the problem with burying things you didn't want others to see is that you didn't get to understand them yourself and that could pose just as much of a problem.

He felt his fist connect with the wall before he'd even realised what he was doing. For a few moments he just stood there, his whole body tense, his fist still pressing against the wall and his head lowered. He used the opportunity to chase away all the thoughts he was having and calm himself down enough to face Mokuba and Tristan. The thought in and of itself made him feel sick; he was treating them both like they were the enemy when all either of them wanted was to know he cared. But despite the sickness he managed to find a calm and, after taking a deep breath in, he finally left the room.

* * *

Mai's throat was dry and hoarse by the time he finally appeared next to her. Instantly her eyes narrowed in on SK and she did everything in her power to let him know she really wasn't happy with him.

'What the hell took you so long?'

'Sorry Mai, you're not a Mistress so your calls aren't as loud as theirs would be and... I was a little... err... distracted this morning,' SK licked his lips.

'Distracted?' Mai stared at him. 'Distracted how exactly?'

'Jay and I both... err... overslept a little bit,' he averted his gaze.

'Really? Really that's what was distracting you? A whole pack of wolves disappeared and you were sleeping?'

'Wait, I'm sorry, what?' SK licked his lips again.

'I thought it was your job to keep an eye on what's going on down here,' she was really starting to lose her patience now. 'During the eclipse yesterday Joey and the rest of the canines just disappeared. I'm pretty sure something like that should have caught your attention.'

'Yeah, you're right, it should have,' he licked his lips for a third time, scratching the back of his neck as he did. 'But the funny thing about the eclipse is that it's just as big an event for those of us up there as it is for you guys down here. We, Jay and I, actually got an invitation to the gods celebration and Octan said it was a sign they respected us, since he hadn't had an invite to a godly celebration since he became a part of Jay, but that he used to get them all the time and refusing really wasn't an option.'

'So you're telling me you left your post for a party and didn't bother checking in when you got back?'

'Err...' he gave a nervous little laugh, 'did you know dead people can get drunk?'

'You were drinking,' Mai was at the point of hysteria with him now.

'I did mention the whole _you can't refuse a god_ thing, right? Look Mai, I'm sorry,' his tongue skated across his lips, 'I know we seriously dropped the ball on this one...'

'That's an understatement if ever I heard one,' Mai started pacing.

'I'm sorry, I really am,' his face filled with a weak but genuine smile, 'so have the wolves shown up again yet?'

'Joey was back this morning, but he…' she hesitated, 'he wasn't acting like himself.'

'What do you mean?'

Mai could feel her whole body tense as she shifted her gaze away.

'Mai, what happened?'

'I'd rather…' she paused to try and smooth out the tremor in her voice, 'I'd rather not go into it. Let's just say whoever was in the room with me this morning was not the Joey I know.'

'Mai...?'

'Please SK, I don't want to get into this. What I want is for you to find out what happened to Joey and the others yesterday. I need to know why... Please.'

'Okay,' SK nodded, 'we'll do what we can.'


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

It had been a slow day and Nayta was just about to break for lunch, when they came in. There were four of them, two boys and two girls, all between the ages of eleven and fifteen. There was a dangerous glint to their eyes and when they smiled there was an obvious animal like extension to their canine teeth.

'We can smell food here, where is it?' One of the boys growled.

'Why do you want to know?' Nayta tried to keep her cool.

'Our sarn ordered us to get food,' one of the girls stalked across the shop towards her, 'we're a loyal pack so we do as he asks. Now, are you going to tell us where the food is or do we have to hunt for it ourselves.'

'Upstairs,' she figured it was probably best not to antagonise them.

'You know what to do Kanse,' the first boy who'd spoken glanced towards the other.

'Aye Natten,' the other boy nodded, before he and the two girls disappeared into the back of the shop.

'I don't know what's gotten into you all, but you know I'll be reporting this as soon as you've left, right?'

The boy identified as Natten shrugged as his black rimmed eyes fixed almost relentlessly on her.

'Silkoneons and Odraians don't steal, you know that right?' Nayta somehow managed to keep her voice level. 'This behaviour is...'

'You smell good,' he cut her off.

'What?'

'I said you smell good,' Natten stalked his way towards her.

Fearfully she backed away, but he pounced on her causing her to slam into the counter behind.

'What are you doing?' Nayta tried to force him off.

The only reply she got from him was a mocking laugh. He began tugging at her clothing, his strength and forcefulness stronger than her own.

'Get off me,' she went to slap him, but he caught hold of her wrist. 'Why are you doing this?'

'I told you,' his lips curled as his voice rumbled, 'you smell good.'

His grip on her wrist was almost vice-like. As she struggled to pull her arm away from him the grip only became tighter.

'Get off me,' Nayta could no longer keep emotions out of her voice, 'you're hurting me. Please.'

He laughed again and began forcing her back onto the counter, using his free hand to again pull at her clothing as he did. Nayta did her best to struggle against him in every way she could. As the tussle continued, a tray on the counter crashed down onto the floor and one of the pendants in the tray bounced towards his foot. A loud and painful yelp escaped him as he backed away. For a second he just stared at her in confusion, before moving towards her again. As soon as he was within an inch of the pendent he gave another yelp of pain and backed away. Without hesitation Nayta bent down and grabbed hold of it. She then pointed it at him like some kind of weapon and watched as he stalked a perimeter around her.

'Leave,' Nayta did her best to control the fearful trembling shaking her body. 'Get your friends and get the hell out of my shop. Now!'

A deep throated growl escaped him, so she jabbed the pendent in his direction causing yet another yelp.

'I said leave.'

His lips curled into a dark look of displeasure for a moment, before he tilted his head back and started howling. Within seconds the other three returned, their arms weighed down with food. Natten indicated to them they should leave and without a word all four of them made their way out of the shop. The second they'd gone Nayta breathed a deep sigh of relief. And, with her hands still shaking, she stared down at the pendent she was holding. A Matra. She had no idea why he was so afraid of it, but for her own sake she was glad he was. Without hesitation she tied the pendent around her neck.

'I think I'll close early today,' she laughed nervously as she locked the shop door, 'I don't think I could handle anymore unexpected visitors.'

* * *

'Tristan's moving in with Kaiba,' Téa's voice was somewhere between deadpan and utter disbelief. 'We've got to stop him.'

'I'm sorry, what?' Yugi blinked at her as her true feelings about the situation hit him.

'He's moving in with Kaiba,' her voice maintained its previous tones. 'I was calling him to see if he wanted to hang out with us today and that's what his Mum told me.'

'And his Mum wants you to convince him not to do this?'

'No,' a slight amount of hysteria began to pull through, 'she's acting as if this were bound to happen eventually or something. She was more concerned with whether or not she should start inviting Kaiba around for dinner. And when I asked her if maybe she was being a little too calm about this considering the fact her son had spent the last three months trying to top himself she said... _she said_ that since Kaiba had done so much to keep her son alive she felt like it was the best thing for Tristan for them to be together. Together, like they were some kind of couple or something. I mean, did I wake up on planet crazy this morning? I mean, I have no problem with Tristan being gay, that's if he even is, but Kaiba...? He's cold and arrogant and manipulative and just about the last person I'd want any of my friends to be with.'

'Shut up,' CL cut her off, 'you have no idea what you're talking about. For a start whatever they are to each other is their business and for a second Kaiba knows how to take care of his own. Okay he's tough and he doesn't take any bull from anybody, but he just does what he has to to survive and I have nothing but respect for him.'

'What is this, national love Kaiba day or something?'

'I can think of worse days to have,' CL folded his arm. 'But you know something, Tristan's wrong when he says you don't change. Every single time something happens to alter the expected normality of your friendship group you turn into a right cow; behind everybody's backs at any rate. To their faces you act like everything's the same and that's what really pisses people off.'

'How can you say something like that when you barely even know me?'

'Because it's the truth,' he shrugged. 'There's a lot of good in you Téa, that's what makes you worth saving. It's just unfortunate your personality gets under everybody's skin.' CL got to his feet and made his way towards the door. 'I need to blow out of here for a while, if you still feel the need to try and talk to Tristan then by all means do, but it won't do you any good. Tristan is the most stubborn ass I know and once his mind's made up about something there's nothing in the world that can change it.'

* * *

The second he arrived it was clear he was more than a little agitated, but since she'd been able to watch the conversation he'd just been having she couldn't blame him. Carefully she made her way towards him, placed her hands on his shoulders and tried to comfort him.

'Téa was always...'

'I know,' he cut her off.

'Still, you should be pleased,' she nodded towards her view screen in the stone table, 'you were right.'

'And now you owe me,' a small smirk appeared on his face as he lifted his gaze towards her.

'A bet is a bet.' She pulled the ivory handled pen knife out from the back of her skirt and handed it to him.

'Very nice Jo,' he flicked it open and closed before slipping it into his back pocket, 'maybe I'll let you win it back sometime.'

'Because that's going to happen,' she turned away from him.

'Don't be mad at me Jo,' his arms were suddenly wrapped around her waist, 'I'm not doing this to hurt you.'

'I know.'

'And we both agreed this was the way things had to be.'

'I know.'

'So then why are you so mad at me?'

'I'm not,' she pressed her hands against her stomach, 'I'm just...'

'Jo,' he turned her round to face him, 'you know why things have to be this way. What we are... what we have... it's wrong. If it wasn't... if this was really meant to be our future we wouldn't be able to change it. This,' he gripped her stomach, 'this has made you weak and susceptible to doubt and the way I see it, it's the only reason your heart's no longer in this plan.'

'C...' she stared into his eyes, wondering how they could be so intense and so gentle at the same time.

'To me you are and always will be the strongest and most beautiful woman in the world. You are my equal. My match. The order to my chaos. And the only one who can scold me for what I'm about to do.'

'For what you're about to do,' she frowned at him, before spotting the mischievous expression forming on his face. 'Oh no, you can't be serious.'

'And just why not?'

'Because its unnecessary madness, that's why.'

'If it were completely unnecessary we'd never have discussed it,' he cocked an eyebrow at her. 'You know as well as I do they'll just end up interfering with our plan if we don't take care of them now.'

'I know, but... I mean, they're the ones who...'

'I know,' he rolled his eyes, 'I've heard the story as many times as you have. Don't worry; I'll make sure I'm there. Nothing will happen to her Jo.'

'It better not.'

'I won't let it,' he gently stroked the hair back from her face, 'you know I'd be completely lost without you.'

'Sometimes I wonder,' she shifted her gaze away.

'Never wonder,' he placed a hand under her chin before kissing her, 'just trust that I love you and will keep loving you for as long as we both exist.'


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

'I thought you'd show up eventually,' Tristan half glared up at them as he continued to pack his suitcase. 'You know my Mum was actually pretty upset about the way you spoke to her.'

'Uh... I'm sorry,' Téa squirmed, 'but I just can't believe you're seriously moving in with him.'

'Why not,' he met her gaze.

'Because it's Kaiba.'

'And?'

'Téa's right, it is a little bit weird,' Yugi's face filled with a tense smile. 'I mean, I know he's helped you out a lot and everything but...'

'I see my Mum failed to mention the fact this was Mokuba's idea,' he rolled his eyes as he turned away from them to grab more clothing from his wardrobe. 'Yes Seto's helped me out a lot, which is why I've been returning the favour by helping him out with Mokuba. He doesn't like the fact his brother feels so neglected all the time.'

'But that still doesn't require you moving in.'

'It does when Mokuba asks for it, apparently,' he flicked a glance back towards them. 'I think some of his Win powers are starting to charge up or become more noticeable to him or... whatever,' he shrugged. 'Something happened yesterday which freaked him out more than a little and the idea of me moving in was just about the only thing which would calm him down. So go figure.'

'And Kaiba was okay with it?' Téa frowned.

'There are only two people Seto cares about; himself and his brother. As far as he's concerned I'm just somebody who owes him a favour,' there was a sad lilt to Tristan's voice which Téa couldn't help but pick up on.

'But you wish it was more than that,' she took a step towards him. 'You know he's never going to think of you as a friend, right?'

'I'm sorry, at what point did I ask for your opinion about this Téa,' Tristan glared at her. 'In fact at what point did I even say I wanted to see either of you today?'

'We're just worried about you. We don't want to see you get hurt?'

Tristan gave an almost hysterical laugh and shook his head.

'You're an idiot sometimes Téa, you know that?'

'I...'

'You can both leave now.'

'What?' Téa gawked at him.

'I said you can both leave now,' his expression was pretty much blank. 'I'm trying to pack and you're both being pretty damn distracting right now. So if you don't mind...'

'But we...'

'We should go Téa,' Yugi placed a hand on her shoulder. 'He knows what he's doing.'

'But...' she hesitated then sighed. 'Alright, we'll go, but no matter what happens Tristan, we'll always be there for you because we're your friends, remember that.'

'How can I forget,' Tristan shrugged callously, 'when you won't let me.'

* * *

Covo was leaning heavily on Nayta as the two of them burst into the room. It was clear from the way both of them looked someone or something had attacked them. Ahna could feel her heart pounding sickly in her chest as she rushed towards them.

'My gods Covo, are you alright?'

'The veron have gone crazy,' his eyes were wide as Nayta lowered him down into the nearest chair. 'If it hadn't of been for Nayta, I think they would of killed me.'

'Again and again and again, the veron have been hurting people,' Catilin's voice was small and uncertain. 'Why would they do that?'

'I don't know,' Nayta flicked her gaze up towards her, 'but I do know they're afraid of this,' she held up the pendent around her neck. 'It was how I was able to save Covo.'

'A Matra?' Korin laughed in surprise.

'I know,' she nodded, 'I was just as shocked as you. But for some reason it scares the living daylights out of them.'

'This is so sad,' Catilin sighed, 'The air vibrates with pain. They want this. They don't want this. It's them and it's not them. Something's making them act this way, it's scary.'

'I know it is,' Ahna lowered her gaze, 'I'm just thanking everything in me that so far Veronie's not been involved in any of these attacks. And for Crovell's sake I'm praying…'

'Hiet braysta would never hurt anyone,' Catilin cut her off. 'He wouldn't, not ever, don't even think it.'

There was a beat of silence as Ahna found herself squirm under Catilin's all too naive little gaze. But before she could work out some way of carefully preparing her for the possibility Joey might eventually be involved, the distant sound of howling reached their ears.

'What are they saying?' Korin glanced towards Catilin. 'I can't speak wolf.'

'When the time comes the moon will guide them,' Catilin tilted her head thoughtfully to one side.

'What does that mean? Time for what exactly?'

'I... I don't know,' she shook her head. 'They say the moon is wise and powerful for seeing a threat none of them can see. That they will lay their lives down for the moon to protect us all. But... how... how can they be protecting us when they're hurting us. Do they think everyone's a threat?'

The howling stopped and a deep and ominous silence fell around them.

'I'm afraid to go out there,' Ahna's voice was little more than a whisper.

'For Crovell's sake, you'd better not,' Covo shot a warning look in her direction. 'Where is Crovell anyway?'

'With Duke.'

'Is he still here?'

'Crovell won't let him leave,' Ahna tensed.

'A baby can't dictate what someone does,' Korin laughed.

'Agreed,' Nayta nodded.

'Korin,' Covo's voice was edged with nerves, 'Crovell's no…'

'Covo,' Ahna cut him off, 'they don't need to know.'

'Know what?' Korin frowned.

'Sorry Korin,' Covo shook his head, 'if Ahna doesn't want me to say anything then I really can't.'

'It's okay Macar,' she smiled weakly at him, 'I understand. But you know, I've been wondering something, about Catilin's vision I mean.'

'Vision?' Catilin frowned.

'Yeah, you know the one you had during your episode yesterday; you were talking about wolves, or at least a wolf, howling at…'

'His mistress, though she were the moon,' Ahna found herself jumping in. 'I've been wondering about it too. Ever since the wolves disappeared I've been wondering if it really was a proper vision and not just an episode induced psychosis. Do you remember anything about it?'

'I remember...' she closed her eyes, 'a blue wolf and a burning landscape. The approach of darkness and everything crumbling into nothing. There was a little girl too,' her eyes slowly reopened, 'but her image wasn't clear, she was… she was saying something. Something important.' Her eyes flickered searchingly from side to side. 'I saw the wolf, he was my brother.'

* * *

'Check and mate,' Jay cocked an eyebrow at his opponent, 'now, are you gonna tell us what we want to know or what?'

'Or what,' she folded her arms, 'like I told your friend here earlier, I don't know anything.'

'You're seriously telling me one of Sta's highest ranking followers doesn't know a thing about the disappearance of the Silkoneon veron?'

'What makes you so sure Sta had anything to do with it in the first place,' she fixed her gaze on him.

'Because something happened to them during the eclipse, whilst Sta was in control of the daylight sky. If he didn't have something to do with it I'd say he seriously dropped the ball.'

'Well if he did I don't know anything about it,' she pulled herself to her feet, 'now if you don't mind I have duties to attend to. Some of us take our responsibilities seriously.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You were the ones nursing a hangover this morning, you tell me,' she turned and swaggered away from them.

'There are times I find myself really hating certain types of higher beings,' Jay rolled his eyes, 'especially those who align themselves with the Wen.'

'Please tell me we won't have to deal with them on a regular basis,' SK groaned and licked his lips.

'Unfortunately we don't have much of a choice. Part of the Helper's job is to make sure things keep ticking over the way their supposed to. But not all higher beings are as bad as she is. I mean, technically we're a type of higher being. The Herin in Nethher Herin is actually the old Etean word for higher you know.'

'I know,' SK rolled his eyes, 'there are a few things I've read about. So what do we do now?'

'We could always talk to Dee.'

'Dee?'

'You know, _our_ lady.'

'Our lady,' SK licked his lips again, 'I don't...'

'Ugh, sometimes I think you do these things on purpose,' Jay shook his head. 'I'm talking about Liekta Dayena, you know, Lady Death.'

'You mean the one married to Ni?'

'Yes, exactly, her.'

'What makes you think she knows anything?' SK frowned.

'Because Dee makes a point of keeping her ear to the ground,' Jay grinned, 'she knows everything.'

'Wow, everything you say,' an unfamiliar voice sounded mockingly out of nowhere, 'you need to introduce me to this woman sometime, because there are a few questions I could do with answers for.'

'Who said that?' SK's eyes flicked around searchingly.

'Ignore it,' Jay gritted his teeth, 'it's probably just some bored higher being playing games with us.'

'And you would know all about games, wouldn't you Jay?' The voice sounded again. 'Especially when you get to play with peoples' lives. But then I guess an idiot child would like its toys.'

'Shut up,' Jay's hands balled into fists, 'the darkness was pulled out of me. I am not evil anymore. The idiot child... Gan... is gone.'

The voice laughed, but said nothing.

'Who are you?' SK's tongue skated across his lips. 'Show yourself.'

'Oh SK, it's almost hard to believe you have so much promise. I mean, you're so neurotic you can't even see what's right in front of you half the time, not until its way too late that is. You need to learn to trust yourself or you'll end up rejoining the light way before your time.'

'Is that supposed to be some kind of threat?'

'No SK, just a warning. I wasn't sure what to make of you at first, but I've decided that I like you. You're worth more than I even I realised and its no wonder the others... Well, I guess it doesn't matter, not if things are going to change.'

'Whoever you are, show yourself right now,' Jay turned a full circle, more than a little agitated now.

'Why the rush Jay, are there other things you'd rather be doing right now?' The voice was calm and strangely taunting at the same time.

'You know we do,' Jay clenched and unclenched his fists a few times, 'and something tells me you know something about it.'

'You're right, I do.'

'Are you the one behind it then?' SK licked his lips again.

'You'd like that, wouldn't you? For things to fall so neatly into place you almost don't need to work for it. But how can you really achieve anything if you haven't worked for it?'

'What do you want?' Jay narrowed his gaze in the direction he thought the voice was coming from.

'What I want, my little Helpers, is for you to follow the wolf.'


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

For a few long moments SK found himself staring at the wolf which had appeared before them. It was about the size you'd expect an adult wolf to be, but its coat was a deep blue in colour and its eyes were a rich brown. SK didn't know a whole lot about wolves, but he was pretty sure nature couldn't have produced one like this. He glanced towards Jay, but the other guy's expression was pretty unreadable.

'Should we follow it?' SK licked his lips.

'I don't think so,' Jay folded his arm.

'But…?'

'But?'

The wolf gave an impatient noise which sounded halfway between a grunt and a growl.

'I think we should follow it.' SK gave a nervous little cough.

'Why?'

'Because I feel like there's something special about it. And... well... the voice said...'

'The voice said a lot of things whilst telling us absolutely nothing,' Jay cut him off. 'I'd stake my afterlife on this being a trap.'

'It's a risk I'm willing to take and it's not as though we have any better leads right now.'

'Err hello, are you forgetting about Dee?' Jay cocked an eyebrow at him.

'You only think Dee might know something about this,' SK licked his lips again.

'Yeah, I also think she's a lot less likely to lock us up and throw away the key for talking to her.'

'Oh don't be so overdramatic,' SK rolled his eyes, 'what would anyone gain from locking us up?'

'You're right, this guy is probably looking to force our ascension,' Jay lowered his head slightly. 'I mean, you did hear the way he was talking about me, right? Like I was still evil or something. I say we can't trust him.'

'Well I say we should follow the wolf,' SK folded his arms, 'and since technically I'm still the official Helper that means I outrank you.'

'You're actually going to pull rank on me?'

'If that's what I have to do, then yes.'

'Fine,' Jay rolled his eyes, 'we'll follow the wolf, just don't say I didn't warn you, because I'll have no problems in saying_ I told you so_.'

* * *

'So do you have any brothers?' Korin studied Catilin for a moment.

'Only if you count hiet braysta,' she shook her head, 'but Lillyannu had two before the game got them.'

'Was either one of them a wolf?'

'Uh-uh, the eldest was a cat like Lilly and the youngest was an owl like his mother.'

'And where either of them blue?'

'Why would they be blue?' Catilin frowned. 'I know you can get animals which are called _blue_ whatever, but Silkoneons don't get those very often.'

'I know, but I'm just trying to rule out that this might be some kind of memory from your Khine or whatever,' Korin pulled an apologetic face. 'I know that's possible when Calicaccus are Khined and I just wanted to make sure your vision was a vision and not a memory.'

'But... they are anyway,' Catilin tilted her head to one side. 'Memories are visions and vision are memories. The two go hand in hand. What is seen becomes remembered. What has been can come again. I know people say it's easy to understand what is and isn't a vision with Calicaccus but it's really not so clear cut.'

'What about the girl?' Nayta pressed her lips together. 'Could the wolf have been her brother?'

'Mm,' Catilin nodded, 'visions can get all stirred up and mixed together when they're happening,' she tapped the side of her head. 'What is me and what is not me stops being separate. Her image wasn't clear and wasn't finished.'

'Because she was a reflection?'

'Maybe.'

'So what did she look like?'

'It wasn't clear,' Catilin's face screwed up a little as she clearly tried to remember what she could, 'like the reflection in a window. But she was young, not even a teenager I don't think, but maybe not so far off.'

'What about what she was saying,' Ahna picked up. 'The passage or poem or whatever about the howling wolf; what do you remember about that?'

'I saw the wolf,' Catilin closed her eyes as the burrowing of her forehead deepened, 'he howled and howled at his mistress though she were the moon. He deafened me; I could scarcely breathe, as I drowned amid the voices. I saw the wolf he was my brother. The storm comes…' she shook her head. 'The storm comes…' huffing she opened her eyes. 'I don't think I can remember anymore.'

'I know what the last line was,' Korin gave a nervous laugh. '_The_ _storm_ _calls_. _I am lost._ I remembered that much.' She tilted her head. 'I think the middle bit was about a storm anyway.'

'I guess we'll have to try and work with what we have,' Nayta began to play with the pendent around her neck. 'Let's take it in steps.'

'Then we start with the wolf,' Korin gave a confident nod.

'No,' Catilin slowly shook her head and giggled, 'we start with his mistress.'

* * *

Mai's stomach was clenching and unclenching repeatedly as she paced up and down the room. The tray of food Ahna had brought for her earlier was still untouched on top of the chest of drawers. She needed to eat about as much as she needed to stop pacing, but she couldn't allow herself to do either, not till SK was back. So far he was the only one who knew about Joey's visit to her that morning and she was planning to keep it that way for as long as possible. The last thing she wanted was for any of them to ask too many questions or worse draw connections she really didn't want them to make.

A sharp shudder down her spine brought her to a momentary stop. She juddered on the spot for a few moments, clenched and unclenched her hands before resuming pacing.

'What's taking him so long?'

'What's taking who so long?' The sound of Duke's voice made her jump.

'How long have you been there for?' Mai turned to see him stood in the doorway.

'Only a few minutes. I wanted to see how you were.'

Crovell made a sharp gurgled squeak.

'Sorry,' he laughed as his eyes flicked down towards the baby for a moment, 'I meant we wanted to see how you are.'

'Do you really understand him?' Mai frowned almost glad of the distraction.

'Not exactly,' Duke shook his head, 'not in the word by word kind of sense. I mean, I can't translate what he's saying exactly, it's more instinctive than that. I get what he needs me to understand and that's pretty much it.'

'I see,' she wrapped her arms around herself, 'but how come no one else can understand him?'

'I…' he hesitated, 'I have a theory, or rather,' he looked embarrassed, 'Crovell does.'

'Just how smart is that baby?' A wry smile twitched at Mai's lips.

'Pretty smart,' he smirked, 'don't know where he gets it from though. Not from Joey, that's for sure.'

They both laughed, although it felt a little forced and tense on both sides.

'So what is it?'

'What is what?' Duke frowned.

'This theory of Crovell's.'

'He thinks I've imprinted on him, you know in the way certain animals are imprinted with the first thing they see after their born, instinctively seeing that person as a parent.'

'Well that would explain why he brings you here all the time, but not why you can understand him.'

'Mm... yeah, well he thinks because of the storm the imprinting went two ways, which is why I have an instinctive need to protect him.'

'So this bond between you is parental?' Mai studied him for a moment.

'No... not exactly. I mean, yes on some level it is, but we're both very clear about who his parents are. We both know he belongs with them, but... I'm the one he needs to protect him. I guess, in some ways, I'm his Helper.'

'I see,' Mai walked towards them, 'does he know his father is missing?'

'He knows,' Duke nodded.

'Does he know where his father is?'

Duke hesitated and shifted his gaze away.

'Does he know where his father is?' Mai pressed.

'No...' he bit his lip.

'Duke?'

'He doesn't know where he is, but…'

'But?'

'Crovell,' he glanced down at the baby, 'you mind?'

Crovell gurgled and squeaked in response.

'You mind taking him for a second Mai?'

She shook her head and he handed the baby over.

'I'll be back in a minute,' he disappeared out of the room.

True to his word Duke took next to no time to return. When he entered the room he was holding a large, leather bound book, which reminded Mai of the Fabled Truths.

'What's that?'

'It's called The Wolf's Ghost, in a lot of ways it's the Lutonis version of the Fabled Truths. Well... kind of.'

'What do you mean?'

'Most of the stories and passages in the Wolf's Ghost were written by Sil Ashmar and Makay Lutoni and all of the Sil's entries are also in the Fables. Very little has been added since their generation and most Lutonis kind of forget it's even there.'

'You know an awful lot about it,' Mai frowned at him.

'Yeah, well did you know Cat likes to make notes at the front of these books she translates,' Duke laughed nervously. 'For someone who spends half her time talking like a little girl, she definitely has a very adult way of writing information.'

'Well she is a lot more intelligent than most of you seem to give her credit for,' Mai shrugged. 'Joey's one of the worst for treating her like a child. And... I have to admit there are more than a few occasions I find myself falling into the same trap.'

'Yeah, she is kind of weird, but in a good way,' a strange smile formed on Duke's face for a moment. 'Anyway when I was looking through this book with Crovell this morning, he kept coming back to this one story.' He flicked the book open and began to read. 'It is a curious fate to behold when the wolf controls the man. His instincts sharpen, his senses heighten and his nature returns to the wild. But the more the wolf controls him, the more he becomes the wolf. If it continues for too long the man disappears to be replaced by the wolf.'

'He said I smelt good,' Mai felt a shiver of fear run through her.

'Who said?' Duke glanced up towards her.

'Joey, this morning. He... he was here and he... he was acting really strangely and…' slowly she shook her head. 'I think I know what Crovell was trying to tell us.'

'I know,' Duke nodded, 'the wolves are going native.'


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Mokuba was sat on his bed with a book open in front of him attempting to read. But it was no good, there was just no way he could concentrate on the text when something so exciting was happening. Okay, maybe exciting was the wrong word for it, but it was the closest thing to how he was feeling. He got up and moved towards the door, before creeping silently through the hallway and glancing into the room two doors down. Tristan was still unpacking his stuff.

He felt himself buzzing more than a little. He couldn't believe this was really happening. Okay so the situation was a little bit weird and maybe he shouldn't feel quite as pleased about it as he did, but this really was a good thing. It had to be; after all wouldn't they all be much happier now?

Mokuba forced himself back towards his room. However exciting this situation was, he had to remain calm about it, he didn't want to give either one of them an excuse to take it back. He entered his room as silently as he left it, but as he crossed the floor towards his bed a sharp spike of fear punched its way through him, bringing him to a stop.

'Monster,' a voice at once familiar and yet completely unknown to him sounded out of the walls around him.

'Heartless demon,' another voice bordering on recognisable followed the first, 'you're not welcome here.'

'Leave now.'

'Leave now or else.'

'Or... or else what...?' Mokuba stammered.

'Or else we'll find a way to kill you and leave you rotting in hell where you belong.'

Mokuba felt his heart stop dead in his chest; the other voices had been familiar but unidentifiable but that last one wasn't.

'S-Seto?'

'Gutless demon, didn't we tell you to stay away?'

'I... I don't understand,' Mokuba shook his head, 'what's going on here?'

'Did you really think we wouldn't figure out a way of killing you?'

'Seto...?'

'Wretched little monster,' invisible hands clasped onto Mokuba's shirt half lifting him off of his feet, 'will you only be satisfied when there's nowhere safe left? Or are you so damn jealous of what we have you have to take away whatever remains?'

'I... I don't understand,' Mokuba's voice was little more than a squeak, 'what... what's going on? What's happening? Why are you doing this to me?'

'How many more reasons do you need you heartless fiend.'

The empty space in front of him suddenly filled with the most horrifying person Mokuba had ever laid his eyes on. The man's hair, what was left of it, was pure white. His body was so thin it looked like little more than dry, wrinkly skin clinging onto bones. His face was drawn and hollow and if it wasn't for the flesh which filled out features such as the nose and lips Mokuba could have easily believed he was staring right at the guy's skull.

Mokuba felt like being sick. He wanted to squirm and wriggle away from the nightmare of a human being in front of him. Then he found himself staring into the man's clear blue eyes and a weight greater than fear dropped inside of him.

'Seto...?' Mokuba's mouth felt dry. 'Oh my god Seto, what... what happened to you?'

'Don't play innocent with me. Don't you dare play innocent with me. I won't be fooled by it, not any more. You will pay for what you've done.'

'What... what I've done?' Mokuba shook his head. 'I... I don't understand, what did I do?'

'And just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower...'

'No, no, please I mean it; I don't know what it is you think I've done.'

'Then take a look around you and remind yourself of this _hell_ we live in. This nightmare that _you_ helped to create.'

Mokuba could feel every inch of his body tremble as his eyes darted around his bedroom; only it didn't look like his bedroom anymore. Everything left in the room was blackened and charred beyond recognition. The roof was completely missing and the walls around him were visibly crumbling.

'What… what happened?' Mokuba's voice was little more than a squeaky whisper as he stared up at the threateningly unnatural skyline above them. 'I don't understand, what's going on here?'

'Don't you dare play dumb with me,' the skeleton-like Kaiba half shook him, 'you know damn well what's going on here.'

'I don't,' he shook his head, 'I really don't.'

The look of rage on Kaiba's face was enough to turn Mokuba's very core cold with terror. With more strength than he would have expected from someone who appeared to be little more than skin and bones, Kaiba threw Mokuba across the room. As Mokuba reeled in pain from his collision with what was left of the bed, Kaiba kicked him over and placed his foot on his chest.

'Please stop this,' Mokuba's voice cracked with a mixture of fear and pain, 'I don't understand why you're doing this to me.'

'It's what you deserve you twisted little wretch of a monster,' Kaiba stamped his foot down on him. 'This is the hell you created so you deserve to go down with it like the rest of us.'

'I don't understand, please Seto, I don't understand!'

'Don't give me that,' Kaiba reached down and dragged him back to his feet. 'Don't lie to me now, not now, not after everything you've done. I know death terrifies you, you pathetic parasite, but it will bring me more joy than you would believe possible.'

'No, no please don't say that,' Mokuba shook his head. 'Please, I don't want to die,' hot tears rolled down his face. 'Please, I don't understand what's going on. I don't understand what happened to you. I don't understand any of this. Please.'

'I told you not to lie to me you heartless demon.'

'I'm not... I'm not lying. Please. Please. I don't know what's going on. I don't know. Please Seto. Please don't do this.'

'Pathetic,' Kaiba shook him, 'you're so pathetic in the face of death. I don't know whether to feel pity or disgust or both. But then I shouldn't have expected any kind of dignity from a wretch like you. Tell you what, I'll give you one chance to change my mind; all you have to do is renounce her.'

'Renounce who?'

'Don't play dumb, you know full well who.'

'I'm not playing,' Mokuba shook his head, 'I really don't know.'

'The First, Mokuba,' Kaiba put his face so close to his, Mokuba could see every individual wrinkle, 'I want you to renounce the First; then maybe, just maybe, I'll let you live.'

* * *

The sound of screaming had broken cleanly through the air, burst through Tristan's ear drums and pretty much cut its way through his entire being. For half a second he was frozen to the spot, then he forced himself to rush out of his room and down into Mokuba's. Mokuba was stood in the centre of his bedroom, with his head back, his arms crushed against the side of his head and the ungodly scream still emanating out of him.

'Mokuba,' Tristan placed his hands on the younger boy's shoulders, his whole being filled with a mixture of dread and concern, 'Mokuba, calm down.'

For a few long seconds the scream continued, then it juddered into an undead like rumble.

'Mokuba...'

Before he could say anything else, the younger boy sharply sucked in a breath of air in a way which reminded Tristan of the first breath he'd taken after being brought back to life by the First.

'Mokuba... are... are you okay?'

'Tristan?' Mokuba's head slowly lowered, his voice little more than wheezed whisper.

'It's me lus braysta,' Tristan forced a weak smile onto his face, 'what happened? Are you okay?'

'You're concerned about me?' An odd look of amusement appeared on his face.

'Of course I am; why wouldn't I be?'

'It worked,' Mokuba laughed as he pulled himself away from Tristan, 'it actually worked.'

'What worked? Mokuba...?'

The younger boy didn't reply, instead he briefly examined his hands before making his way towards the mirror to study his reflection. For some reason this included lifted his top to check his chest and stomach.

'I'd almost forgotten what this was like,' Mokuba ran his hand across his exposed torso. 'This is just unbelievable. I can't believe it actually worked.'

'Mokuba...'

'When is the eclipse,' Mokuba cut him off.

'Yesterday,' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at him, 'don't you remember?'

'What do you mean it was yesterday?' Mokuba spun round to face him.

'I mean, it was yesterday,' Tristan found himself studying the younger boy. 'Are you feeling alright?'

'I'm fine,' he gritted his teeth, 'I guess I'm just a little later than I thought I'd be. Tell me, do I still live here?'

'Yeah... you do,' Tristan frowned at him, 'or at least you'd better still live here, you're the whole reason I'm moving in.'

'You're moving in?' Now it was Mokuba's turn to frown. 'But that didn't happen the first time.'

'The first time?' Those words made Tristan's stomach clench. 'What do you mean the first time? Mokuba, what's going on?'

'Nothing you need concern yourself with,' a dark smirk appeared on his face, 'not yet anyway.' He made his way towards the door.

'Where are you going?' Tristan grabbed hold of his arm as he passed.

'For a walk,' Mokuba pulled his arm back and glared at him.

'Do you... do you want me to come with you.'

'Not really.'

There was a heavy beat of silence before Tristan was able to force out the words lodged in the back of his throat.

'Who are you?'

'Iam Mokuba,' he made his way out of the room, 'who else would I be?'


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The wolf led them into the Mistresses Chamber. Stood in front of the central table was a boy of about sixteen, with sandy-blond hair, dressed in jeans and a black sleeved white top. His head was lowered enough so his thick hair fell over his face, obscuring his identity further. From a spot just inside the doorway, Jay watched the wolf make its way across the room towards the boy. For less than a heartbeat it pressed its nose against the boy's stomach before vanishing in a blur. The second the wolf had vanished, the boy's head flicked upwards and a cruel smile appeared on his face.

'Jay, SK, so glad you could make it. Please, make yourselves comfortable,' with a single flick of his hand a cage formed around the two Helpers.

'Do I get to say I told you so now?' Jay glared at SK.

SK shot a look in his direction, but said nothing.

'Just how childish can you get Jay,' he swaggered towards them. 'SK was simply following his instincts, it's not his fault his instincts are so god damn awful.'

'Hey, that's not fair,' SK's tongue skated across his lips.

'No, what's not fair is you wasting all that lovely potential you have,' the boy came to a stop a few feet away from the cage. 'The Mistresses have a Helper for a reason and if you don't learn what that reason is quickly you won't have a future and that piece of shit,' the boy pointed towards Jay, 'will prove even an idiot can create their own share of hell.'

'Who the hell do you think you are,' Jay slammed himself against the bars of the cage.

'The Hero of Time,' the boy smirked as he flicked his hands out in a theatrical manner.

'That's not funny,' Jay glared at him.

'It doesn't need to be, it's the truth. I'm here to fix everything,' his jaw line hardened, 'and right now the pair of you are nothing more than a complication I can do without.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means I need you out of the way to make things easier on myself. You can't have too many variables running around when you're trying to change everything.'

'What do you mean? What exactly are you planning?' SK's tongue skated across his lips again.

'To fix everything. I told you, I'm the Hero of Time,' he gave another dramatically theatrical gesture.

'Stop saying that kid,' Jay half growled at him, 'you're convincing no one. Heroes don't go around locking people in cages.'

'They do when it keeps those people out of the way,' he smirked, before turning around and disappearing into nothingness.

'Any idea who that kid might have been?' SK licked his lips as he shot a look in Jay's direction.

'No, but my guess is he's some dead prankster with far too much time on his hands and some involvement with the missing wolves.'

'You think he's dead?'

'I don't think, I know, he used ASP.'

'ASP?'

'Astral Sintoy Projection; it's a technique Silkoneons can learn, but it takes decades of training and even then there's no guarantee.' Jay folded his arms. 'That kid couldn't have been much older than me, if anything I'd have said he was younger; physically speaking I mean. For him to be able to use ASP to that level means he must have been dead a pretty long time.'

'But he was talking about changing things, as though…'

'As though he were from the future,' Jay shook his head, 'I highly doubt that.'

'Why not?'

'Because he's Silkoneon and that's not a Silkoneon power.'

'Well maybe some other being helped him get back here.'

'I don't think so SK.'

'Why not?'

'People with the ability to time travel know how the fabric of time works,' Jay's voice was as level and firm as his jaw line, 'so they wouldn't send someone else back to do a job only they're capable of doing.'

* * *

'His mistress?' Korin frowned. 'Why his mistress?'

'Because I think it might be our Mistress too,' Catilin tilted her head to one side, 'or at least one of them.'

'What do you mean?'

'You're thinking it's the First, right?' Covo folded his arms. 'I mean, it's the only one that would fit.'

'Right,' she nodded, 'but it still doesn't tell us where hiet braysta and the others are.'

'Or why they're acting like this,' Ahna pulled a face.

'Maybe not, but it's still a pretty good place to start,' Covo lowered his head slightly. 'So if we're saying the Mistress is the First, then who's the wolf.'

'Hiet braysta of course,' Catilin blinked at him as though the answer was obvious.

'But you said the wolf was blue.'

'Uh-huh and blue is one of the colours of the Lutoni house.'

'Yes, but the Lutoni wolf has always been silver,' Covo shook his head. 'So symbolically Veronie would be represented by a silver wolf; it doesn't make sense otherwise.'

'Visions don't have to make sense Covo,' now it was Catilin's turn to pull a face.

'I know, but when everything about your vision was so highly symbolic it doesn't makes sense for this to be...'

His sentence was cut off by the loud ringing of a bell. For the longest heartbeat everyone froze, their eyes almost unwilling to meet with each others as they all realised what the sound meant.

'Oh god, the vote was today and I totally forgot,' Ahna groaned and buried her face in her hands.

'I think we all did,' Korin bit her lower lip.

'I don't think I could face Mai ever again if they vote against changing the law; I'd feel so guilty.'

'Me too,' Covo lowered his gaze, 'I feel like I've let her down somehow.'

'All Mai cares about right now is getting hiet braysta back,' Catilin's voice was surprisingly calm. 'If we do that for her she won't care about anything else.'

* * *

It felt good to be young again. Better than good, it made him feel alive in a way he'd forgotten was even possible. The day was cold, but the skies were clear and what sun there was made his skin tingle with the essence of warmth.

'Blue skies and sunshine, I don't think I could have asked for a better day,' he smirked to himself.

'Well you certainly don't deserve it,' the familiar voice sounded from behind him. 'I knew I couldn't trust them to take care of you before you pulled a stunt like this.'

'Well you should have been more careful about what you were doing,' he turned to face him, 'you were the one who not only gave me the idea to do this, but the opportunity too. The more you mess with time the more temporal anomalies you create, there's a whole Realm which can testify to that.'

'I know,' the boy folded his arms, 'that's why I'm doing my best to keep the anomalies to a minimum, but I guess I left one too many holes visible for no nothing monsters like you to crawl through.'

'I would look very closely at yourself in the mirror before you start accusing me of being a monster,' he took a step towards him, 'your hands are just as stained as mine.'

'Whatever it is you're planning to do, you won't succeed you know,' the other boy met his gaze, 'my plan's not only better laid out than yours, it's also been in motion for a lot longer.'

'You'd really like to believe that, wouldn't you?'

'I believe it because it's the truth. We will succeed, you will fail.'

'We'll see,' he turned away from the boy.

'Gutless monster,' the boy spat the words out.

'Chaotic bastard,' he shot the words right back, 'you think you're so much better than I am, but you're not. We're alike you and I. We both do what we have to in order to get what we want.'

'Yeah, you're right, we are alike. Except what I want is a better future for my family...'

'Don't lie,' he cut him off, 'you're doing this for the same reason I am. Power and control.'

'No, you're wrong, I don't want that. If I wanted that I wouldn't be back here now trying to change everything.'

'Forgive me if I don't believe you.'

'I wouldn't forgive you for anything, especially now you've sent yet another innocent child to his death.'

'Innocent child,' he chuckled, 'this is the kid who grows up into me; I wouldn't have thought you'd consider him innocent.'

'Growing up into you is the fate I'm trying to save him from,' the kid glared back at him, 'and trust me that's one area of my plan where I'm definitely going to succeed.'


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

'It's not going to stop existing if you don't look at it for five minutes you know,' Tristan leant against the door frame and folded his arms.

'I know,' Kaiba flicked a glance in his direction, 'I'm just... impatient. I want to be there the second we know for sure everything has worked the way it's supposed to. Nothing like this has ever been created before.'

'Well that's not strictly true,' Tristan crossed the room towards him. 'Things like it have been made before, just not to this level or power. And I'll admit it's exciting, but we have other things to worry about right now.'

'Things like what?' Kaiba turned towards him and met his gaze properly this time.

'You're brother is acting strange,' Tristan's tensed, 'not like himself.'

'In what way?'

'In the way which makes me think something's controlling him.'

'Something like what?' There was genuine concern in Kaiba's voice now.

'I'm not sure, but... some of the things he said made me think the kid might have something to do with this.'

'He'll regret it if he does,' Kaiba gritted his teeth.

'It's just a shame we don't know how to contact him,' Tristan tilted his head to one side, 'I'd rather know what's going on now then be shocked by the fallout later.'

'You think there's going to be fallout?'

'I think whatever's gotten into your brother isn't about to play nice,' he half turned away. 'There was a definite darkness there, the kind you don't need powers to be able to sense.'

'Well whoever or whatever it is, they're going to regret messing with my family,' Kaiba's voice was as serious as it was unforgiving.

'They always do, don't they?' Tristan smirked. 'I mean, you are Seto _freaking_ Kaiba after all. No one messes with you and gets away with it.'

There were a few long moments of silence. Then Tristan gave a heavy sigh and made towards the door.

'Tristan...' Kaiba hesitated.

'What?' Tristan stopped and glanced towards him.

'I...' the word was almost stuttered and followed by another hesitation.

'You what?' Tristan frowned.

Kaiba made a few noises which sounded almost like attempts at sentences, then shook his head and turned his gaze back towards their creation.

'Seto, what is it?' Tristan took a few steps back towards him.

'Nothing.'

'Are you sure? Because it sounded like... like you wanted to say something.'

'I don't. It's nothing.'

'Seto...'

'I said its nothing Tristan,' Kaiba cut him off sharply, 'now just drop it would you?'

'Fine,' Tristan's voice was just as sharp and agitated as Kaiba's had been, 'I'll leave you alone now, since that's ultimately what you want, isn't it?'

'Tristan...'

'One of these days Seto, I...' Tristan cut himself off with a noise halfway between disgust and anger. 'You know what, it doesn't matter, because it's not like you care.'

* * *

Considering how little she knew about the guy, Téa still found herself more than a little shocked to see CL stood on her doorstep when she opened the door. The look on his face was more than a little bit creepy, which didn't help Téa feel any less perplexed by the situation.

'Hi,' she half frowned, half smiled at him.

'Hi, can I come in?' CL's voice was cheerfully calm.

'Err… sure,' she stepped back and allowed him to enter.

'So how did the talk with Tristan go?'

'Um… he's still moving out.'

'Didn't I tell you he was pretty stubborn?' CL laughed. 'Mann that guy just doesn't change.'

'Uh-huh,' even Téa could hear the tone in her voice. 'So why are you here?'

'Well that's a little complicated,' he tilted his head to one side, 'or really straight forward depending on how you look at it.'

'What do you mean?'

'Do you remember the girl in the news yesterday, the one who got attack on what would have been your shortcut home had me and Yugi not accompanied you? Well you've no idea how easily that girl could have been you.' There was something menacing about the look in his eyes. 'And even though the fact it wasn't is a good thing, it still leaves me with a problem. A couple of problems actually. You see my first problem is that I now have too many people running around. People who will just make an already complicated situation even more complicated than it needs to be. The second is that I need Yugi to stay away from Sil for as long as possible. In fact I'd be more than happy if he doesn't go there at all; too many factors to consider and all that.'

'I don't...'

'I don't regret changing things. You really are a good person Téa, annoying as hell maybe, but you are a good person. Saving you in the way I did will ultimately prove worthwhile. But having you in the hospital is probably the best way to keep you out of the way,' CL flicked an energy ball into his hand.

'What... what are you doing?' Téa backed away from him, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

'Trust me Téa, this is going to be a lot less painful than what could have happened to you. I saved you from a fate which would have ruined your life no matter how you try and look at it. Where as this,' he indicated towards the energy ball, 'this will just knock you out for a few days. I'm not saying it's not going to hurt, but you'll still be able to see at least afterwards.'

'Why…?' She continued backing away. 'Why...?

'Because I'm trying to stop a death and the only way I can do that is by keeping the numbers to a controllable level. I've already taken care of SK and Jay,' he smirked, 'after you it'll be Covo and Korin. Not sure yet how many of the others will get to hang around, but I've still got a little time to figure it all out.'

'I… I don't understand.'

'Of course you don't; you've no idea the hell I've come from. You've no idea just what kind of world I'm trying to prevent from coming into existence. You can't even comprehend what's really at stake here. But you can do me a favour by going to sleep for a few days,' he prepared to throw the energy ball he was holding. 'It's strange, no matter how many times I do this I never get bored of it,' a cruel smile pulled across his face. 'Catch.'

* * *

Mai gave a heavy sigh and stared down at the tray of food Korin had brought her. It wasn't that it didn't look appetising, she just wasn't hungry. In fact at that moment in time she wasn't sure if she'd ever be hungry again.

'It's not poison, I promise,' Korin gave a nervous little laugh, 'I wouldn't gain anything from that.'

'I know,' Mai shot her a weak smile, 'I'm just not very hungry.'

'I understand, but you really should eat.'

Crovell gurgled in Duke's arms and for a moment all three of them turned their attention towards the baby.

'He's such a little cutie,' Korin cooed.

'Yeah, but he's starting to get a little hungry now I think,' Duke smiled down at the baby, 'where's Ahna?'

'She's with Macar and the others trying to figure out what's wrong with the wolves,' Korin flicked her gaze up towards him. 'I was helping but a lot of what they were saying was just going right over my head, so I figured I could do with a break from it.'

'Have they managed to figure anything out yet?' Mai and Duke exchanged glances.

'Well yes and no,' Korin pulled a face. 'So far there are more theories floating around than anything we can really sink our teeth into; at least that's how I feel about it. Still, it's nothing for you to worry about right now.'

'Anything which concerns Joey concerns me,' Mai shook her head. 'I should be helping.'

'I know that's how you feel Mai, but there's really not a whole lot you can do.' Korin's face filled with a sympathetic look. 'You're a Standing so you don't have the power or the knowledge we do and even though I do have it, it's still going over my head. I know it's hard for you to just sit here doing nothing, but I honestly think trying to help us out will cause you more pain, not less.'

'But Mai's...' Duke went to protest, but Mai held a hand up to silence him.

'You're probably right,' Mai sighed, 'and I doubt I'd have the concentration for it right now anyway. I just want Joey back...'

'I understand,' Korin nodded, 'I should get back to the others now anyway. If you think you can manage some food, please do, I'd hate to think of you making yourself ill over this. I'll see you later,' with that she left the room.

'Crovell really is getting hungry,' Duke's almost flat voice broke the silence, 'I should get him back to Ahna now. Are you sure you don't want me to mention anything to them?'

'I have to do this on my own,' Mai shook her head. 'I'm not just Joey's partner, I'm also the First's Win, remember? I need to do this.'

'I understand, but that doesn't mean I approve Mai. This is a dangerous situation you're putting yourself in here...'

'I know.'

'I know I can't stop you, but please promise me you'll be careful.'

'I promise,' she lowered her head, 'you should get him back to his mother now.'

'Alright,' he made his way towards the door, but hesitated before exiting the room. 'Good luck Mai,' he glanced back towards her, 'I just hope you don't need it.'


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

'I renounce her. I renounce her!' Mokuba let the words burst out of him, not totally sure why he needed to say them.

'What?'

'I renounce her,' his whole body trembled. 'I renounce the First.'

'You... you miserable coward,' Kaiba's jaw fell open, making his hollow face look even more drawn and haunting. 'Is there nothing you won't do or say to save your own skin?'

'Please,' he squeezed his eyes shut as tears rolled down his cheeks, 'I don't understand what's going on here. I don't know why you're so angry at me. Please, I'll renounce the First, I'll renounce anyone you want me to, just please believe me.'

'M-Mokuba…?' He stammered. 'No,' he shook his head, 'this is some kind of a trick.' His grip on Mokuba's shirt tightened again. 'Why would you renounce her now when hiding behind her skirt always allowed you to get away with murder? You're trying to trick me.'

'No, no I'm not, I'm telling you the truth,' his eyes were blurred with tears as they met with his brother's, 'please... please believe me Seto. Please big brother; I need you to believe me.'

'Why are you doing this to me now?' Kaiba shook his head. 'Why are you trying so hard to mess with my head? Do you think this was an easy decision for me to make? Do you think I wanted it to come to this?'

'I don't know. I don't know. I don't understand anything that's going on here. Please, please believe me Seto. Please.'

'I don't believe this,' Kaiba tossed him aside again, 'I don't believe you. This little act of yours, it's just some pathetic way of saving your own hide. I can't believe it.'

'But I'm telling the truth,' Mokuba found himself curling up into a pathetic ball of misery. 'One minute I was in my room and happy because everything was looking up and the next thing I know I'm here with you threatening to kill me. I don't understand what's going on,' he squeezed his eyes shut as his voice broke with tears. 'I don't know how everything got this way. I don't know how you got this way. I don't know what I did to make you hate me. Please Seto, please don't kill me.'

'Get up,' Kaiba growled at him.

Mokuba's whole body was shaking too much from a mixture of fear and tears for him to respond.

'I said, get up.'

Still Mokuba was unable to do as he was asked. It was too hard, too frightening.

'Get up!' Kaiba grabbed hold of his arm and dragged him to his feet. 'If you're lying to me, so help me I'll make sure you regret it.'

'You... you believe me?' A slight wave of hope moved through Mokuba's body.

'I don't know if you're telling the truth or not, but I know someone who will,' he gritted his teeth. 'You're coming with me.'

* * *

As Yugi hung up the phone he felt a wave of numb horror move through his body. Stiffly he made his way back into the living room where CL was hanging upside down on the couch once again.

'Are you okay Yugi?' CL turned himself into a proper sitting position. 'Only you're looking a little pale; who was that on the phone?'

'It… it was Téa's mother,' his mouth felt dry, 'apparently she's… she's in the hospital.'

'You're kidding,' he gawked, 'no way.'

'I'm… I'm going to visit her now, so…'

'I understand,' CL jumped to his feet, 'I wasn't going to stay long anyway, remember? I've got a few people I need to see.'

* * *

'You're sick, you know that?' Jo smirked.

'What's the point of causing chaos if you're not gonna stick around to see the effect?' He grinned. 'Roll on chaos; hasn't that always been my motto?'

'So are you going to keep on thinning the numbers then?'

'I told you I would, didn't I? The less complicated we can make the main event the better, right?'

'Right,' her voice was more than a little dull. 'Just remember your promise, you have half an hour.'

'Don't worry,' he brushed a lock of her hair back from her face, 'I won't forget.'

* * *

Korin sat herself down on the steps leading into the Southern Palace and watched the sun slowly set turning the sky deep shades of purple. Even in the crisp cold weather of winter the simplicity of the sunset filled her with a strange kind of internal warmth. Sil might not have been Earth, but it was still home.

'Hey, you alright?' Covo took a seat beside her.

'It's been a long day,' Korin sighed, 'and it doesn't help to know you've been keeping lots of secrets from me. I thought we said we wouldn't do that.'

'I know, but it wasn't really my place to say anything. I've told you that from the beginning.'

'And as much as I understand that, a lot of what's been going on the last couple of days... I could really have done with some kind of heads up Macar.'

'I know.'

'So are you going to bring me up to speed now or do I have to keep guessing?'

'Well, as you know my involvement in all this started that day you were put under house arrest,' Covo rested his arms on his knees so his hands dangled in between and tilted his head up slightly. 'I'd just taken over from the guard who'd originally been posted when I heard this screaming coming from Ahna's room and I...'

'Went to investigate,' an unfamiliar voice from behind them finished his sentence.

Korin felt a slight shudder run up her spin as she turned to see the sandy haired boy behind them. There was something about the way he presented himself which made her feel like he was the hunter and she was the prey.

'You know, you never do change the way you tell that story,' the boy smirked as he tilted his head to one side, 'Mum always said you really sucked the life out of it.'

'What?' Covo frowned.

'You have no flare for telling stories Covo, I'm sure Korin could tell you that. The two of you have known each other your whole lives, haven't you?'

Korin wasn't sure what to make of this intruder. She shot a look in Covo's direction hoping he would give her some kind of unspoken insight, but it was clear from his expression he was just as much in the dark as she was.

'Who are you?' Covo's voice was as level as it was serious.

'Who I am is not important. What I'm about to do to you, however, is.' He flick summoned a yellow energy ball into his hand. 'Catch.'

He threw the ball at them and, as it flew through the air, it split into two before hitting both of them. A shockwave of pain buzzed through Korin's whole body as every single limb went into a tense spasm.

'I can't move,' Covo's voice was filled with panic.

'Of course not, you're paralysed,' the kid rolled his eyes.

'Why are you doing this?'

'Because it's the only way to keep things simple,' he lowered his gaze. 'Don't worry; I'll make sure no harm comes to her, but...'

'But what?'

'Last time the two of you were nothing but distractions. Distractions I could do without if I'm going to save everybody.'

'What are you talking about,' Korin could hear the trembling in her own voice.

'I told you, I'm getting you out of the way,' the area around them melted and they found themselves staring at him through the bars of a cage in a room so white Korin felt almost blinded. 'Don't worry, you'll be safe here, I promise.'

With that he disappeared and the paralysing grip lifted from Korin's body.

'Macar what's going on?' Korin turned towards him. 'Just what kind of trouble are you in?'

'Covo?' Another unfamiliar voice sounded before Covo had a chance to answer her.

'Jay? SK?' Covo frowned as they turned around to face them. 'He got you guys too?'

'Looks like it, doesn't it?' One of the two guys in the cage opposite licked his lips.

'I don't understand,' Korin shook her head, 'why is he doing this to us?'

'That's what we've been wondering,' the younger of the two folded his arms, 'although who you are also intrigues me.'

'I'm Korin,' a weak but polite smile pulled at her lips.

'Morning,' he laughed.

'Morning?' The other stranger frowned as his tongue skated across his lips again.

'Korin is the Etean word for morning; it's a very Silkoneon name,' he grinned at her. 'I'm Jay and this is SK, we work for the Mistresses.'

'You know she didn't need to know that, right?' SK sighed and shook his head.

'Hey, I was only trying to make conversation.'

'Well how about a conversation that's actually on track.'

'How many more times SK? We can't do anything from this cage, so what's the point?'

'Have you guys tried to get out of it?' Covo tilted his head to one side.

'Nah, we've been wasting our time playing Devil's Chess,' Jay's voice dripped with sarcasm, 'of course we've tried escaping, but our cage is magic proof and no doubt yours is too.'

'There's gotta be something we can do.'

'Yeah,' he nodded, 'we can sit and wait.'

'What's with the pessimistic attitude?'

'I was wondering that,' SK licked his lips, 'it's not like you to just give up.'

'I'm not giving up,' Jay rolled his eyes, 'I'm admitting temporary defeat.'

'Temporary? You mean your pessimism won't last?' SK cocked an eyebrow as his tongue once again passed across his lips.

'Of course not, once we're out of this cage my optimistic attitude will return.'

'But _you_ don't believe we can get out of the cage.'

'Then _you're_ just gonna have to prove me wrong.'


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

With the same skill and grace she'd used as a teenager sneaking out of her parents house, she made her way out of the Southern Palace into the darkened streets below. She had no idea what direction she should take, but a sudden and strong instinct pulled through her. It moved her forward like some kind of invisible guide. Within fifteen minutes she found herself approaching a wooded area. For an instant a vivid memory of a picnic with Joey at the entrance to this place flashed through her mind. It had been their first official date, but she wasn't sure if the idea he might be here was comforting or not.

Still there was no turning back now. Taking a deep breath, she entered and before long she spotted a clearing in the path ahead. Inside the clearing she could just about make out a large group of people. As she made her cautious way towards them she noticed strange things about their appearances. Some had wolves' ears or tails, others had a thick layer of fur covering part or all of their bodies and some even appeared to have paws. A sick wave of horror hit Mai as she realised Joey had to be amongst them.

The second she arrived in the clearing every single pair of piercing wolf-like eyes turned towards her. But it was the unbearable level of silence which caused shivers to run up and down her spine.

'Mai,' a familiar voice broke the tension.

The figure landed almost out of nowhere in front of her, causing her to gasp with more than just shock and surprise. It was Joey. Only his mop of blond hair was now a mane of grey fur and he had the ears and tail of a wolf.

'I knew you were coming,' his face twisted into a smile, baring his wolf-like teeth, 'I could smell you.'

'Joey you've…'

'Who's Joey?' He stared at her in confusion. 'I'm Veronie. Veronie Lutoni, alpha wolf,' he thudded his right fist against his chest. 'Tell me you've come to join my pack Mai. Please. It would make me so happy. I don't want any other alpha female but you. I know you're not a wolf, but I'm sure we can find some way around that.'

'Jo… Veronie I can't. And…. and you're not a wolf, you're a human.'

'Of course I'm a wolf,' he laughed, 'a wolf of the moon.'

At the mention of the word moon, the others began to howl. This caused the grin on his face to widen.

'Join me Mai. Come on, I want you to join me. Please.'

'I... I can't.'

'Please Mai, don't make me beg.'

'No,' she shook her head, 'no I can't and you're not a wolf. None of you are and if you don't snap out of it soon you'll…'

'But we are wolves Mai; how can you say we're not?'

'Because it's true; you're humans, Silkoneons even, you belong in houses.'

'You mean cages,' a deep throated growl rumbled out of him. 'You're here to lock us up, aren't you?'

'No!'

'Don't lie,' he spat, 'that's why you're here, isn't it? You don't want to join me, you want to put me on a leash and keep me as a pet. Well that won't happen Mai, you hear me.'

As he spoke the others started to form a tight circle around her.

'Joey, please, this isn't you.' Mai tried to keep her voice as level as possible. 'You're not a wolf, you're a human. Snap out of it, now, before it's too late.'

'I told you, my name's Veronie,' his wolf-like eyes glared at her, 'and you will not cage me.'

He reached a hand out towards her neck, but quickly recoiled with pain.

'A Matra,' he growled as he eyed up her pendent. 'How dare you wear a Matra? Take it off.'

'No.'

'Take it off now!'

'No, I will not. I will not take this pendent off until you are yourself again.'

'You ignorant Standing; how dare you question me? I said take it off and I mean take it off now.'

'No.'

'If you do not take it off now Mai, we will kill you.'

Suddenly a number of the wolves drew knives.

'But I thought Silkoneons were pacifists,' Mai tried not to show her fear as she eyed them up.

'But we're not Silkoneons Mai, we're wolves.'

'I know you,' she returned her gaze to his, 'you wouldn't kill me.'

'Oh but I will,' he bared his teeth to her, 'I will kill you if you do not take that Matra off.'

'And I'm telling you I won't take it off; not until you've return to your senses.'

'Take it off!'

'I said no.'

The already tight circle around her tighten further.

'Take it off,' his voice was little more than a snarl as he drew a knife of his own, 'or I will kill you myself.'

'I will not take it off,' Mai remained defiant, praying it was the right thing to do.

A deep growl emanate from his throat and, after a loud, angry cry, he lunged at her. She managed to avoid it plunging into her chest, as intended, but still ended up with a nasty gash on her arm.

'Consider that a warning,' his expression was as dark as his voice, 'next time I won't miss. Your choice is simple Mai. Take it off or die.'

'I will not take it off.'

'Then you will die.'

He lunged at her again, but this time Mai found herself unable to move. A scream escaped her lips, but as it did she felt someone grab her and her vision filled with a bright light.

'I knew I couldn't trust him.' She heard someone mutter as the light's intensity made her feel ill and she passed into unconsciousness.

* * *

Duke had been pacing back and forth across the various hallways of the Southern Palace when he bumped, literally, into Catilin. In her typically innocent manner she placed her hand behind her back and gave an apologetic bow.

'Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going.'

'Its fine,' a weak smile pulled at his lips, 'I wasn't exactly paying attention either.'

'Is Crovell with Ahna still?'

'Yeah.'

'Is that why you're so worried?'

'Uh...' he hesitated for a moment, 'I'm not worried.'

'Yes you are,' Catilin tilted her head to one side, 'you're making the air twitch. Do you want to talk about it?'

'There's nothing to talk about.'

'But I'm a good listener, I promise.'

'It's fine, really.'

'The air's all twitchy, so I don't believe you, but I will drop it for now if it's what you really want.' Catilin pouted. 'So how's Mai?'

'She's, err… she's fine,' Duke felt strangely caught out. 'Well, as fine as she can be under the circumstances.'

'It must be hard; she must miss hiet braysta so much. I should make sure she's okay.'

'No,' Duke wished the word hadn't burst out of him so quickly.

'Why not?' Catilin looked genuinely hurt.

'Because... err... she's... err… she's sleeping.'

'But when I went passed her room just now there were no vibes coming from it. Sad people give off lots of vibes because they need others to hear them. But I couldn't hear Mai in her room at all, so she can't be in there.'

'I... err...'

'Duke, where is she really? Why are you lying to me?'

'Err...' he hesitated.

'Duke?'

'She... she went to find Joey.' Duke sighed, defeated. 'We think he and the others are being controlled by their Sintoys and that they're…'

'That they're what?' Catilin forced him to meet her gaze.

'That they're turning into wolves.'


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

'The wolves are getting unruly brother,' Du glared at him, 'at this rate they'll have turned before they finish their objective.'

'Have a little more faith,' Sta smirked, 'the wolves won't let us down.'

'But we're running out of time,' he gritted his teeth, 'if they fully turn we won't be able to reverse it.'

'I am more than aware of that.'

'Then maybe it's about time you kicked them into action.'

'What's the matter brother,' Sta cocked an eyebrow, 'don't you trust me or something?'

'I don't see any reason why I should,' Du met his gaze, 'we all know just how much you would benefit from the wolves turning.'

'Really?'

'If you just sit back and watch them fully turn, you'll end up with your own personal army. But I'm telling you now, it won't work.'

'Won't it?'

'It won't, because you're not factoring in mother.'

'How can you be so sure I didn't factor her in?' Sta smirked.

'Because only a fool would try and control her.'

'And you don't think I'm a fool?' Sta laughed. 'That's a first. Still, you have no need to worry, they will strike soon.'

'They'd better do brother, they'd better do.'

* * *

'Damn it,' he cursed, as he checked his watch, 'how the hell did I get so far behind? Jo will kill me,' his stomach clenched with dread, 'that's if I get there in time to revive her.'

As he neared the clearing, he could hear the wolves howling. His body tensed as he came to a complete stop.

'That's exactly what they did when SK saved Mai,' he frowned as he listened carefully to what they were saying. 'She's escaped... but... but how?'

* * *

They were in _that _room when he arrived back at the Kaiba mansion. He had no doubt the weapon was in its cooling period and they were both more concerned with it than they were with him. He had always been their lowest priority. Even the day he'd moved out his brother had chosen to spend most of it in that room with _that_ weapon under some kind of deluded notion that the change he wanted to bring about was the only change which mattered. He was wrong then and he would be wrong now.

The sudden noise of the phone ringing made him jump out of his skin. It had been a long time since he'd heard such shrill and monotonous tones that it took him a few moments to even remember what he was supposed to do with it. Just before the last ring his hand reached for the receiver and he picked it up.

'Hello?'

'Hey Mokuba.'

'Yugi?' He frowned, trying to remember what this call might be about. 'Is that you?'

'Yeah it's me. Listen, is Tristan there; I really need to talk to him.'

'What about?'

'Téa...'

'Téa?'

'Yeah... Look I know the two haven't exactly been getting on recently, but... she's in the hospital.'

'Oh right,' he smirked as it all came flooding back to him, 'she was attacked yesterday, wasn't she?'

'What...?' Yugi's voice sounded strange. 'What are you talking about?'

'Téa, she was attacked... I guess it must have been the night before last, it was on the news, wasn't it?'

'That... that wasn't Téa. Téa wasn't attacked.'

'Yes she was,' he couldn't keep the insistent tones out of his voice if he tried, 'and she's been left pretty much blind because of it.'

'Did you have a bad dream or something?' Yugi gave a nervous laugh. 'I know that news story was pretty shocking, but Téa wasn't the one who was attacked.'

'Are you sure?'

'Mokuba, Téa wasn't attacked, I promise you.'

'But... I don't understand... if she wasn't attacked then... then why is she in the hospital?'

'Because she collapsed; right now the doctors aren't sure what's wrong with her.'

'I see,' he frowned.

'Look Mokuba, could you just get Tristan for me? This conversation is more than I need right now.'

'Yeah... sure, just give me a minute.'

He placed the handset down next to the phone and headed back towards the room he knew they were in. A wave of anger road through him as he realised the little pest had been interfering with a lot more than he realised. It was going to take him longer than he would have liked to work out just how many steps he was behind. Unless...

'Phone for you Tristan,' he shot Tristan a fake smile as he burst into the room, 'it's Yugi.'

For a few moments the pair of them squirmed and made vain attempts at trying to hide the weapon on the table behind them. Then Tristan shot a look towards Kaiba and made his way towards the door.

'I'll be right back.'

He folded his arms and leant against the doorframe, fixing his gaze on his brother as he did. Every second of silence which elapsed around them made Kaiba squirm.

'What you doing?'

'I... err...'

'What's the matter, have I caught you out or something?' He took a few steps towards Kaiba. 'What's with the weapon Seto?'

'It's a gift,' Kaiba shrugged and averted his gaze.

'A gift for who?' His voice toned with amusement. 'No let me guess, it's a gift for that little brat, right?'

'I...' Kaiba flicked his eyes back towards him. 'Mokuba, are you feeling okay?'

'As if you'd care.'

'Of course I care.'

'You say that now,' he admired his nails for a few moments, 'in fact you say that quite a lot, but I know the truth Seto. I'm not on the list of people you care about; I'm on the list of people you can use.'

'Mokuba, I would never do that.'

'Please, spare me,' he rolled his eyes.

'Mokuba, what's going on? What's gotten into you?'

'Let's just say I've gained a few more years of wisdom.'

'Uh...' Kaiba backed into the table behind him, 'just what's that supposed to mean?'

'Oh you'll find out soon enough dear brother,' he smirked at him, 'you'll find out.'

* * *

Mai's head was throbbing as her eyes slowly fluttered open. A loud and almost involuntary groan escaped her as she blinked against the fuzzy but dimming light which filled her vision. When the light finally cleared she found herself staring into the velvet brown eyes of a beautiful blonde girl.

'Are you alright?'

'I feel sick,' Mai wrapped her arms around her stomach and closed her eyes again for a moment.

'That'll pass.' The girl gave a heavy sigh. 'I shouldn't have done that, you know. And it shouldn't have been my responsibility to do it either. He promised me he'd save you; I just hope he has a good excuse.'

'What are you talking about?' Mai opened her eyes again and frowned up at the girl.

'It doesn't matter,' she lowered her gaze. 'All that matters is that you're safe.'

As the throbbing in her head and the sick feeling swimming around her stomach subsided, Mai found herself sitting up in order to examine their surroundings. The room they were in was dimly lit and looked as if it hadn't received a good clean in years. What furniture it contained was broken and dust covered, the floor was covered in debris and the walls themselves almost appeared to be crumbling. After a few long moments of taking it all in, her gaze returned to the girl.

The girl herself was dressed in an outfit which reminded Mai of the one she'd worn during the Battle City tournament, only it was dark blue rather than purple. The second thing she noticed was the slight tightness of the waistband at the top of the skirt; considering how strangely immaculate the girl's appearance was compared to her surroundings, wearing a skirt a little too small for her seemed like a strange oversight. As if the girl sensed Mai's curiosity, she wrapped her arms around her waist and turned her head away. For a few long heartbeats there was silence.

'So...' Mai averted her own gaze, 'what is this place?'

'The Southern Palace or at least what's left of it.'

'What...?' Mai's whole being spiked with alarm. 'You can't be serious, what happened?'

'Darkness,' her voice was strangely quiet. 'It's hard to know for sure exactly what triggered it, whether it was the birth or the death, but either way those two events combined and everything started to fall apart. Piece by piece all that was good and pure in the multiverse began to corrupt. Friends became enemies. Enemies started wars. Wars destroyed countries. Countries destroyed worlds. It went on and on until very little was left and the multiverse itself started dying.'

'I... I don't understand...' Mai shook her head, 'why... why didn't the Mistresses do anything to stop this?'

'Because the darkness is in them too,' her voice was dry and wistful. 'It's why I believe the First refused to act when she had a chance and because she wouldn't nobody else could either. I wonder if she even realises her mistakes now. I doubt it though; as much as I don't want to believe _him_ it's not like she's ever even tried to deny he acts in her name. When the end comes, I hope they're the first to go.'

'You sound like you hate the First,' Mai's own mouth felt strangely dry.

'The First is the reason I grew up without a father,' her eyes met with Mai's for a moment. 'The First is the reason this is happening; she just sat there and watched the multiverse turn into this and did nothing to stop it. Nobody worth knowing has any faith in the First anymore; we all gave that up a long time ago.'

'Are you telling me nobody trusts the First anymore?' Mai felt horrified.

'I didn't say that,' she shook her head, 'but those who still follow the First are responsible for turning what was left of our Realm into hell. The Pure, the Face of Friendship, even most of Win, they all support a different leader now.'

'I... I don't understand,' Mai's eyes brimmed with tears. 'This... this is madness.'

'No. This is life. My life.'

There were a few long moments of silence, during which Mai found herself studying the girl, praying for some sign she wasn't serious about what she was saying. Then she spotted the falcon shaped pendent around the girl's neck.

'Your pendent looks a lot like mine,' Mai's hand went to her own necklace, checking it was still in place.

'That's because it is yours.'

'But…?'

'How is it that we can both be wearing it?' A small smirk appeared on the girl's face.

'Well yeah.'

'You've had that Matra for what, a few days now?' She began playing with the pendent around her neck. 'Well, what if I told you I've had mine my whole life.'

'I... I don't understand.'

'It's true,' a soft expression pulled across her face, 'and you were the one who gave it to me?'

Mai found herself staring at the girl in confusion. As she did the girl knelt down in front of her, her eyes slightly lowered.

'What if I told you, you gave it to me the day I was born?' Her voice was soft and unassuming. 'The day you held me in your arms and named me. The day I became known as Josephine Lutoni.'


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

The wolves were still howling when he heard their footsteps on the path behind him. A part of him felt strangely relieved to know they were _on time_ and slowly he turned round to wait for their arrival. The second Duke spotted him his eyes went visibly large and he came to an automatic halt. It was a sign of recognition, that much he could be sure of. Catilin on the other hand kept moving towards him apparently oblivious to Duke's startled reaction.

'Why are the wolves howling like that?' Catilin studied him as she came to a stop a few paces away from where he was standing. 'Why are they saying _she's escaped_? Who's escaped? Mai? What's going on?'

'You know you need to let someone answer one question before you give them another, right,' he sighed and half turned away from her.

'Who are you? Why are you here?'

'You're doing that on purpose now, aren't you?'

'Uh...' she blinked at him, 'why aren't you answering any of my questions?'

'Because most of them you already know the answer too,' he lowered his head slightly as the howling came to a stop. 'That's not a good sigh; we need to get out of here.'

'Mm,' Catilin nodded, 'the wolves have been acting a little crazy; it's not safe anymore.'

'But… but what about Mai?' Duke stammered.

'The wolves say she's escaped, so right now she must be okay,' Catilin met his gaze. 'Besides, hiet braysta will make sure she's safe no matter what.'

'I'm not so sure...'

'Look, Catilin's right,' he took a step towards Duke, 'wherever Mai is right now she's a lot safer than we are. We need to get going, okay?'

Duke stared at him for a long time, before turning his head away and saying nothing.

'We need to get out of here now,' within seconds Catilin had hold of Duke's hand and began pulling him away.

'Okay,' Duke nodded, 'let's go.'

* * *

'Josephine Lutoni?' Mai's whole body vibrated with shock. 'You mean you're… you're mine and Joey's daughter?'

'Welcome to the future Mai,' a soft smile filled her face.

'But I… I don't understand.'

'I wouldn't expect you to,' she lowered her gaze, 'this must all be very confusing for you.'

'But… but you said you hated the First.' Mai tried to get her head around everything she'd been told so far. 'The First is Joey, are you saying you hate your own father?'

'Weren't you paying attention Mai? My father is dead. He's been dead since before I was born; I never knew him and... and it was all her fault.'

'How...?' Mai stared at her.

'She let him die,' for the first time real anger appeared on Jo's face. 'She could have saved him but she chose to let him die instead. There was no need for his death, there wasn't, I'm sure there wasn't. She could have acted... she should have acted, but she didn't.'

'I… I'm sure she had her reasons.'

'And that's what you've spent nearly my whole life telling me,' she blinked back angry tears. 'But do you know what Mai in the end it doesn't make any difference; she should have saved my father, but she chose not to. I can never forgive her for that.'

'But surely…'

'No Mai,' she shook her head, 'there is no but. Not when you're living in this slowly dying hell, doing everything you can to keep what's left of your family alive. Not when you've spent years trying in vain to fight off the inevitable, because you know when it does come everything and everyone you know and love will be gone. No bodies, no homes, no nothing. And then... then you'll have to start again and rebuild everything whilst you're living with the pain of losing everything. No,' she gritted her teeth, 'I will not accept that fate and nor will my brother.'

'What do you mean?'

'If I have to choose between my future and theirs, then I'll choose theirs. My sisters... what's left of my family... they deserve the chance at a better life, I know Crovell's right about that.' Her voice was soft and her head was strangely lowered. 'It was a decision we made a long time ago and one I know even now in my heart of hearts is the right one. No matter how hard it might be, I know it's what we have to do. For them... for my sisters.'

'You're sisters...? I have more children?' Mai felt confused.

'They're Ahna's girls,' Jo shook her head, 'but I think of them as my sisters, so they might as well be.'

'I see... but... why do I get the feeling you're heart isn't as into this as you're trying to make me believe.'

'I told you,' her arms tightened around her stomach, 'it was a choice between their future and my own. I know it's the right decision to make, but sometimes those are also the hardest.'

'Are you...' Mai hesitated, 'are you pregnant?'

'Does it matter anymore,' she turned away from her. 'The light is dying. Soon everything around us will be gone and all that will be left is me and my brother. How can I justify keeping the one thing we'll gain over everything we'll lose?'

'It sounds like it was a hard decision to make,' Mai lowered her eyes.

'It wasn't a decision I was allowed to make,' her voice was mute. 'My brother and I had set about changing everything long before this became an issue. It's made things harder, my resolve less certain, but it has not changed what must happen. We have to save the multiverse and make a better future for everyone in the process.'

'And you're going to do that by changing the past,' Mai found herself studying Jo again.

'Crovell tried three times to alter the events surrounding his birth,' she sighed. 'He wanted to delay it, so that the events which would follow... the ones which would result in our father's death wouldn't happen. Three times he failed, because you cannot stop someone from being born when they are meant to be born.'

'Wait, you're saying Crovell was the trickster?'

'Yes, I am.'

'But if he failed three times to stop the birth what makes him so sure he can stop the death?' Mai felt her whole body tense with fear.

'Mov already gave you the answer to that once,' Jo smiled, 'deaths aren't written into stone like births are; they can be changed. Besides he has to succeed this time.'

'Why?'

'Because this is our last shot.'

* * *

Tristan wasn't sure how he felt about the news Téa was in the hospital. The part of him which couldn't stand her rigid inability to change made it hard for him to care, yet somewhere beneath all that he could still feel the tugging ties of friendship. Despite all the anger and annoyance she caused him, he still somehow considered her a friend. A friend he could barely stand maybe, but a friend none the less.

A heavy sigh escaped him as he re-entered the room the weapon was housed in. His gaze went immediately towards Kaiba. The look on his face brought Tristan to a standstill and for a few long moments there was silence.

'That is not my brother.'

The words hung in the air for what felt like an eternity. Tristan's mouth felt dry and several waves of uncertainty moved through him. His phone conversation with Yugi had made him forget Mokuba's entrance into this room along with his strangeness earlier in the day. But now both things came crashing back through his memory with no purpose other than to taunt him.

'Didn't you hear me?' Kaiba's eyes met with his.

'I heard you,' Tristan turned his head away, 'I'm just not sure I want to believe it.'

'What are we supposed to do?' He shook his head. 'Our changes are supposed to make things better, not worse.'

'I know,' Tristan gritted his teeth.

'So what are we supposed to do?'

'I don't know.'

'Tristan...!'

'I said I don't know, okay?' Tristan balled his hands up into fists. 'We need time to think about this.'

'And in the mean time that... whatever it is continues to run around with _my_ brother's face?' Kaiba shook his head. 'I don't think so.'

'What are you suggesting we do exactly?'

'We lock him up, we tie him down, we get him under control somehow.'

'And if your brother comes back whilst we have him bound and gagged, what then?' Tristan rolled his eyes. 'It'll be the second time you'll have imprisoned him Seto; he might have been able to overlook it before, because he believes you honestly don't remember what happened, but I'm not so sure he'll forgive you a second time.'

'I'll explain the situation to him, he'll understand.'

'Maybe he will, but between it and all the secrets you've been keeping the last few months... Everyone has a breaking point Seto and Mokuba's so close to reaching his. Why do you think I've been treading so carefully with him? We want him to _want_ to remain loyal to us, rather than make him feel his loyalty has been gained through force or manipulation. That's _their_ way of doing things, not ours.'

'I know,' Kaiba half glared at him, 'but something has control over my little brother right now and that is _not_ allowed.'

Tristan took a few steps towards him and placed his hands on Kaiba's shoulders. For a few long, silent moments their gazes locked.

'Seto, I promise you, we will save your brother from whatever it is controlling him right now,' Tristan kept his voice as calm and level as possible, 'but we will do it the right way, with as few negative consequences as possible, understand? I don't want to risk doing anything which might drive your brother away, because...' he hesitated for a moment, before lowering both his gaze and his voice, 'because I couldn't stand to see you hurt.'

'Tristan...?'

'I'm sorry,' he pulled away, 'I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable.'

There were a few long moments of silence as Tristan found himself staring aimlessly at the ground. A part of him hated himself for the way he knew he was just setting himself up to get hurt, no matter how he tried to look at the situation. But he'd gone through hell and back learning to accept these feelings as a part of himself, so pretending they weren't there really wasn't healthy anymore.

'I...' Kaiba's hesitant voice broke the silence.

Tristan lifted his gaze back towards him, but Kaiba's expression was too hard to read.

'We should decide what we're going to do with this being possessing Mokuba,' Tristan gave a nervous cough.

'Uh...' Kaiba looked confused for a moment, 'yeah,' he half turned away, 'you're right, we should.'


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

'Now Mai's missing too?' Ahna shook her head in dismay. 'How... how did this happen?'

Duke's face filled with a momentarily guilty look, but before he could say anything baby Crovell made a concerned gurgling noise. The youth who had arrived with Catilin and Duke took a hesitant step towards her. For a few moments his mysterious brown eyes met with hers and a strange and almost unnerving smile pulled at his lips.

'Can I hold him?'

'What?' She frowned at him. 'You mean Crovell? You want to hold Crovell?'

'Well... yeah... can I?'

'I don't know,' she eyed him up suspiciously, 'who are you again?'

'Not somebody who would ever hurt him, I can assure you of that. So... can I hold him?'

'No,' she shook her head, 'I don't think so.'

'You don't trust me.'

'I don't know you,' her voice felt tight, 'and even if I did I was about to put him down for the night.'

'Could I help you then?'

'No, I can do it myself thank you.'

'You really don't trust me, do you,' a small amount of hurt glinted in his eyes.

'I told you, I don't know you, so there's no reason for me to trust you right now.'

'Ahna I think you should let him hold Crovell,' Duke's voice was more than a little dry sounding. 'I know... I know it doesn't exactly make you comfortable, but he can be trusted.'

'Since when do you get to dictate who holds _my_ child?'

'I... I'm not, not exactly,' Duke gave a nervous cough, 'this is what Crovell wants.'

'Why would Crovell want me handing him over to a complete stranger?' Ahna wasn't sure if she felt more angry or hurt.

'Because he knows who this is and he knows he can trust him.'

Ahna stared down at Crovell for a moment and tried to figure out if Duke was telling the truth or not. After a few long moments of debating and against what she felt was her better judgement, she handed her child over to the stranger.

'Mann this is weird,' the youth smirked down at the baby in his arms, 'you think so too right.'

Crovell made several infantile squeaks, which just raised Ahna's apprehension and annoyance at the situation. How could there be another person out there capable of communicating with her baby when she wasn't able to?

'Knew it,' the youth laughed and shook his head, 'this is very, very weird.'

'What did you expect?' Duke studied him for a few long moments.

'For it to be weird,' he lowered his head slightly, 'but I guess this is just a little weirder than I would have thought.'

'I don't understand,' Catilin frowned, 'how can holding a baby be weird?'

'Should I tell them?' The stranger exchanged a look with Duke.

'Isn't that up to you?' Duke shrugged.

'Yes it is, but... I've always valued your opinion Duke, even if I didn't always listen to it.'

'I still say it's up to you.' Duke shifted his gaze away. 'I just… I just can't get over the fact that you… you're… and how I know it.'

'Duke what's going on,' Catilin tugged at his arm, 'who is this kid?'

'My name is Crovell Lutoni,' the stranger's voice was soft but firm.

'What?' Ahna felt her heart stop in her chest.

'My name is Crovell Lutoni,' he repeated, 'I am your son.'

'No,' she shook her head, 'you can't be.'

'But I am.' A soft, sad smile tugged at his lips. 'I am Crovell Lutoni. I am the guy this baby will grow into.'

'But... how?'

'I've never really been good at that whole explaining thing,' his gaze lowered towards the child in his arms, 'that's what I've always needed Jo for. So how it is I am here... I could tell you but I don't really understand it well enough to make it make sense for you. Besides, how I've come to be here really isn't important. Why I'm here is. And I will explain my reasons for being here to you I promise, but not right now.'

'Why not?'

'Because right now this baby needs to sleep.'

* * *

'What do you mean this is your last shot?' Mai stared at her.

'It's only a matter of time now Mai,' Jo sighed and lifted her gaze towards the ceiling. 'This world... this multiverse... it's only a matter of hours before it'll be gone forever. No matter what happens, no matter what we do, this place will cease to exist by this time tomorrow.'

'But…'

Before she could say anything else, a girl of about eleven appeared in the doorway. Her eyes bulged with fear the second she caught sight of Mai and she began screaming uncontrollably. Her screams brought a second girl, a couple of years older than the first, running. Her eyes spotted Mai the second she entered the room and her expression hardened with anger.

'Jo how could you; you promised you wouldn't raise the dead anymore. It only invites them in.'

'She's not dead Hazelnut,' Jo lowered her gaze.

'Then…?'

'Would you please quieten Lilac first,' she cut her off. 'Unless you really do want to invite them in of course.'

Hazelnut glared at Jo for a long moment, before taking hold of Lilac's shoulders and softening the expression on her face.

'Calm down Ly, its okay, I promise,' her voice was soft and soothing. 'Everything's okay. So you need to calm down.'

Lilac ignored her; if anything her screams only got louder.

'Sis please,' Hazelnut's face crinkled with several emotions, 'you've gotta calm down or there really will be trouble.'

'What's going on? Why is Lilac screaming?' A dark haired man in his early thirties, with a disfiguring scar running down the right side of his face, appeared behind them.

Mai knew it was rude to stare, but she couldn't help it. As she watched the dark haired man scoop Lilac into his arm and hush her until her screams died away to nothing, she couldn't help but study the almost melted appearance of his skin on that side of his face. A detail made even more unsettling when she noticed the white, cloudy look of his right eye.

'I'm sorry uncle Duke, it was my fault,' Jo gave an apologetic bow.

'Duke?' Mai gasped in surprise. 'Duke Devlin?'

She'd been so hung up on his disfiguring features she'd failed to notice the familiarity of the other half of his face. But now that was all she could see. His eyes rose to meet with hers and a spark of fear filled the healthy one.

'J-Jo,' he stammered, 'what did we say about raising the dead?'

'But I didn't…' she bit her lip.

'What do you mean you didn't?' He flicked his gaze towards her. 'If you didn't raise the dead then...' he cut himself off as his jaw line hardened. 'And you have the nerve to tell Crovell off for pulling stunts like this.'

'That's not fair; we both know he's done far worse than this.'

'Yes, but I expect better from you, Jo...'

'Would you two please stop fighting?' Hazelnut cut him off. 'It doesn't do anyone any good.'

'Tell that to Crovell,' Jo folded her arms.

'I do, all the time. But just like you he never listens to me.'

'Oh come on sis, if we listen to all the advice you give us, we'd never do anything,' Jo's face filled with an almost teasing smile. 'You're so overcautious it's a wonder you even get out of bed in the morning.'

'Jo!'

'Jo you have to return Mai to her own time,' Duke's voice was stern, 'she doesn't belong here.'

'I know,' Jo lowered her gaze, 'I only brought her here because Crovell almost let her die.'

'You blame him for everything.'

'Whereas you just worship the ground he walks on,' a dark figure appeared behind Duke.

'Like you can really talk,' Duke smirked, 'the way I remember it you were one of the founding members of the Cult of Crovell.'

'But without you it never would have become a cult,' the figure laughed, 'we were the priests; you were merely the first disciple.'

'And yet to him I will always be more important than you are, doesn't that just eat you up inside?'

'Whatever,' the skeletal like figure moved into the room and focused his gaze on her. 'Mai, Mai, Mai, it's so good to see you again. What's the matter?' His lips curled cruelly. 'Don't you recognise me?'

Fearfully she shook her head and he laughed again.

'I'm not surprised,' he waved his claw-like hands in front of him in a theatrical manner, 'I'm hardly looking my best. But then again this is what you look like when your soul's dying but your body cannot. This is the cruel side of immortality. But then it was always supposed to be a curse. Wretched little creature, I hope Seto's put him out of his misery by now.'

'I…?'

'You what Mai,' a smirk twitched at his too thin lips. 'You don't understand? This is a very different time from the one you're used to my fellow host. This, this is hell.'

'Who… who are you?'

'Oh no Mai, I'm having far too much fun watching you squirm,' he folded his arms. 'I want to see if you can guess.'

'I…' she stared at him, 'I have no idea who you are.'

'Oh don't give me that Mai, come on, play nice, have a little guess.'

'I wouldn't know where to start; you don't look like anyone I know.'

'Now you're just being cruel,' he mocked hurt, 'come on, don't disappoint an old friend like this.'

'I...'

'Tristan that's enough,' Jo snapped.

'Tristan?' The word almost caught in Mai's throat. 'But… but…'

'What do you think Mai,' he pulled himself into a callous pose, 'I don't look half bad for a walking corpse, do I?'

'You... you're dead?' Her eyes wide with fear, she backed away from him.

'Oh if only it were that simple Mai,' he shook his head. 'After everything I've been through I think I would truly welcome that fate. But you see, my body is immortal now.'

'Then... how...? I don't understand...'

'My body is immortal Mai, but the light and everything connected to the multiverse is dying. My soul is dying and with every passing second this cage cruelly created for my soul rots a little more. See it turns out this is what happens to you when your soul dies faster than your body can. And I have that gutless monster to thank for it.'

'Gutless monster?' Mai shook her head in confusion.

'Mokuba, Mai,' a cruel smile pulled at his lips. 'I have Mokuba to thank for this.'


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

They entered the room to discover him packing. Instantly Kaiba felt his whole body spark with anger. If it wasn't bad enough the imposter was parading himself around in his brother's body, now he was also stealing his things.

'Just what do you think you are doing?'

'What does it look like I'm doing?' The imposter cocked an eyebrow at him.

'It looks like you're stealing my brother's possessions,' his hands balled into fists.

'Your brother's possessions?' He laughed. 'Don't you mean _my_ possessions? I am Mokuba Kaiba after all. Or at least I was the last time I checked.'

'Liar!'

'Of course _you_ would think that,' he rolled his eyes. 'I really don't miss your naivety.'

'_My_ naivety?'

'Yes, _your_ naivety. You're naive belief that I had strings for you to pull. But I am and never have been _your_ puppet Seto,' the imposter glared at him. 'I have never been anyone's puppet.'

'I have never thought of _my_ brother as a puppet,' Kaiba took a step towards the imposter, but Tristan caught hold of his arm to stop him moving any further. 'Get out of his body _now_.'

'This is _my_ body Seto,' he zipped the case he was packing shut. 'And I'm going to do with it what my past self should have done with it hours ago. Get it the hell out of this house.'

'If you even try...'

'You'll what, Seto? Hurt me? Prove that I'm right about you. That you were always a worthless, selfish, pathetic excuse for an older brother.'

'Shut up,' Tristan's voice was deathly, 'I don't care who you think you are, you have no right to talk to Seto like that. Everything he's ever done has been for his brother.'

'I'm sorry, remind me exactly how his relationship with you ever benefitted me?' The imposter snorted. 'The only thing his relationship with you ever did was give him an excuse to ignore me even more than he already was and not feel guilty about it. Hell Tristan, do you really think he'd have anything to do with you if you weren't the Win to his Mistress? Do you really think he gives a damn about you? He keeps you around only because he knows he's stuck with you, because of _them_. But the only person he actually cares about is himself.'

'You're wrong,' Tristan lowered his head and gritted his teeth. 'Maybe he doesn't care about me, but he does care about his brother. I know he does. So just shut the hell up and get the hell out of that body.'

'I told you, this is my body, so I'm not going anywhere. Well... I am, but I'm taking this body with me. I'll be seeing you.' With that he disappeared.

'Damnit,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'how... how did we let that happen?'

'We're powerless, clearly he's not,' Tristan lowered his gaze, 'there's nothing we could have done to stop him.'

'That's not good enough,' Kaiba grabbed hold of his collar, suddenly needed to vent his anger at somebody. 'We should have been able to stop him. We should have been able to save my brother from that imposter.'

'Getting angry about this isn't going to help anyone Seto,' Tristan placed his hands on Kaiba's and slowly prised his fingers off. 'We need to figure out who or what's in control of him.'

'How can you be so calm about this?'

'Because one of us has to be,' Tristan sighed and turned away from him. 'Besides I've got this really bad feeling I know what's going on here.'

'You think this has something to do with the kid, don't you?'

'It does seem pretty strange him turning up again right before this happens,' his gaze met with Kaiba's.

'So what do we do,' Kaiba took a deep breath in and tried to calm himself down, 'find the kid, get him to give us some answers?'

'I told you before Seto, the kid will only be found when he wants to be found. We shouldn't waste our time trying to look for him.'

'We have to so something Tristan.'

'I know,' Tristan placed his hands on Kaiba's shoulders, 'but I'm really not sure you're going to like what I'm about to suggest. Because I think we need help from someone with power.'

'No.'

'Seto, we can't do this on our own, you know that.'

'So you're suggesting we call in one of _your_ friends for help.'

'That idea makes me about as comfortable as it makes you,' Tristan turned his head away.

'I won't allow either of them to help us,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'we can't risk them finding the weapon and ruining all of our hard work.'

'Then we try Jay and SK first, they are the Mistresses Helpers after all, aren't they? It's in their best interests not to ask too many questions.'

'That doesn't mean they won't.'

'True,' Tristan sighed, 'but what other choice do we have right now? They have power, we don't.'

'We have the weapon...'

'Which is useless to us for at least the next couple of months.' Tristan's grip on his shoulders tightened. 'I know this isn't an ideal situation. I know asking for help isn't exactly something you like to do. But this is for your brother,' his grip loosened and his right hand carefully brushed a lock of hair out of Kaiba's eyes. 'I know you don't care about me and, honestly, its okay, but your brother... your brother is the one thing I'm certain you do care about and I will not let your own stubborn pride ruin that.'

'Tristan...'

'Four months of counselling and the only thing I've really learnt is to know when to ask for help,' he laughed and turned away, 'you must really feel like you got your money's worth there.'

'You're alive, aren't you?' Kaiba's voice was little more than a dry whisper.

'So should I call SK or do you want to do it,' Tristan glanced towards him, 'he is your cousin after all.'

'I'll do it,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'if you're going to force me to ask for help then I should be the one to ask for it, right? I need to swallow my stubborn pride and fight to get my little brother back.'

* * *

'Hey do you think the others have realised we're missing yet,' Korin sat herself down on the floor of the cage she was still trapped in and leant back against her arms.

'I don't know,' Covo's eyes flicked around the inside of the cage for the millionth time looking for some kind of weakness, 'I hope so.'

'I suppose they've got a lot on their plates right now, noticing we're missing probably isn't a priority for them,' Korin sounded bored. 'I wonder what they had for dinner, I was supposed to be organising that.'

'You really need to stop mothering people all the time,' Covo sighed and glanced towards her, 'most people don't appreciate being fussed over.'

'Most people aren't you Macar,' she rolled her eyes. 'And besides I don't mother, I'm just overly helpful.'

'Whatever,' he turned his eyes back to the cage again.

'So how long have you guys known each other?' A strange frown filled Jay's face.

'Our whole lives,' Korin began tapping her feet together creating an annoying slapping sound.

'As in from birth or just from early childhood?'

'Does it matter?' Covo answered before Korin could say anything.

'No, but it's not often you come across Silkoneons and Odraians who knew each other before the reawakening, I'm just a little curious.'

'Yeah, well it's really not all that interesting,' he shrugged.

'I disagree,' Jay narrowed his gaze on him, 'you don't think I've forgotten what Cat said, do you? About some kind of secret you're keeping. There'd better not be anything untoward going on between you and this Korin girl...'

'This Korin girl can still hear you, you know,' Korin stopped tapping her feet for a moment and stared at him. 'Just because you don't know a whole lot about me, doesn't mean you can talk about me like I'm not here.'

'Sorry,' Jay shrugged, 'but my point still stands; if either of you ever do anything to hurt Ahna...'

'I would never do anything to hurt Ahna,' Covo cut him off.

'You'd better not; after Cat, Ahna is probably about the most important person to me. Seriously Covo, she's like my little sister if you ever hurt her you will not live to regret it.'

'There's really no need to threaten me Jay...'

'No, there's every need to threaten you,' Jay's jaw line hardened, 'I don't like people who keep secrets.'

'Yeah, because you're really one to talk,' SK rolled his eyes as his tongue skated across his lips.

'And just what's that supposed to mean?' Jay shot a look at him.

'You keep a lot of secrets Jay.'

'Just because I don't tell you everything SK, doesn't mean I'm keeping secrets. Besides sometimes it's Octan who doesn't want you to know things.'

'Why do you always find a way of blaming him for everything, even when the two of you aren't speaking?'

'Who said we aren't speaking right now? He's in my head, remember, that makes it a little hard to ignore him all the time.'

'Wait, who's in your head?' Korin pulled herself back up to her feet and made her way towards the side of the cage closest to them.

'Octan,' Jay shrugged.

'As in Octan Tessin Cayta?'

'The one and the same.'

'Okay... and what exactly is one of the best known Desmitus who ever lived doing inside of your head?'

'It's a long story Korin and not one we really have time for right now,' Covo shook his head.

'Really, we don't have time for this right now?' Korin cocked an eyebrow at him. 'We're pretty much stuck here with nothing better to do and you're telling me we don't have time for an explanation of any kind? Gee Macar at what point did you decide to start shutting me out of your life?'

'It's not my life I'm shutting you out of.'

'It sure as hell feels that way.'

'I...' Covo felt momentarily caught out, 'I'm sorry Korin, I didn't mean to make you feel that way, but...'

'If you don't feel comfortable filling her in, I can always do it for you,' Jay smirked. 'You're little friend's right, there's not a whole lot else we can do right now. Just tell me one thing, can she be trusted?'

'Yeah,' Covo nodded, suppressing the mild level of annoyance he felt towards Jay, 'she can be trusted.'

'Then you and SK can keep figuring a way of getting us out of these cages, whilst I entertain Korin with a friendly little story.'


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

'Where the hell is he?' Kaiba paced the room. 'What is he sleeping on the job, or something? Or am I a lower priority now I have no powers?'

'I don't think that's it Seto.'

'Then what is it?' Kaiba's whole face lit up with anger. 'If I've not been dropped down the priority list then what the hell is it?'

'Maybe something's going on we don't know about yet,' Tristan took a few steps towards him, but Kaiba just paced away. 'I told you Win could sense something going on with Mai and Catilin; something which affected Mokuba too I might add. So I don't think your cousin is doing this to us on purpose, he may genuinely be tied up right now.'

'No, that's not good enough,' he shook his head. 'If something really is going on then he should have come here the second we called to make sure our problem wasn't related.'

'Because that's how people think, right?'

'It's how I think and he's supposed to be _my_ cousin, right? A cousin with the same level of intellectual prowess as me if what I read about him is anything to go by.'

'That doesn't mean he thinks the way you do,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'and even if he does, maybe he really can't get away right now.'

'If that dog Wheeler's refusing to let him go, I swear...' Kaiba came to a stop and balled his hands into fists.

'Calm down Seto,' Tristan placed his hands on Kaiba's shoulders, 'you're getting yourself way too worked up about this.'

'Something's possessing my little brother and you think I'm getting too worked up about it?'

'Yeah, I do actually,' Tristan frowned. 'Is the Pure influencing you at all right now?'

'What kind of a question is that?'

'A pretty damn good one if you ask me Seto; you're not thinking as clearly as you would normally right now _and_ you're getting overly emotional about this. Are you sure she's not influencing?'

For half a second Kaiba looked like he was about to get really angry, then a slight frown pulled at his forehead and his eyes shifted away.

'The Pure's not deliberately influencing me, but she seems to think I'm acting the same way she does when she's been around Sta too long.'

'Sta...' Tristan's grip on Kaiba's shoulders tightened, 'but... All this craziness started with the eclipse,' he lowered his head and gritted his teeth.

'You think Sta has something to do with Mokuba?'

'I'm not sure, but I do know we're going to have to call in someone other than SK to help us figure this out.'

'I'm not going to that dog Wheeler...'

'I'm not asking you to,' Tristan shook his head, 'there are three Mistress hosts you know and the third would be a lot more useful to us right now.'

* * *

As Yugi sat by Téa's bedside, a painful feeling of pressure gripped around his heart. Large public buildings like hospitals were not friends to empaths. It was like walking into a raw wall of human emotion and it just increased his steadily building desire to become a complete recluse.

'I wish I knew what happened to you,' Yugi sighed as his gaze focused on Téa's face. 'Maybe then I could figure out a way of waking you up and neither one of us would have to be here,' he pressed his hand against his chest.

'Maybe we should try to get hold of Joey,' the Pharaoh's ghostly image appeared beside him, 'the First has the power to heal, remember?'

'I already asked the Face of Friendship about that,' he shook his head. 'She said the First really wouldn't be happy; the Mistresses aren't supposed to interfere so much with the mortal world, even if they're now a part of it.'

'I guess I can understand that.'

'I'm not so sure I can,' Yugi gritted his teeth a little, 'surely they owe us, don't they? I mean, they invaded our bodies without asking. They interfere with our lives. They cause all three of us pain. So surely they owe us. Surely we should be allowed to borrow their power, just a little bit, when we really need it.'

'They have to draw a line somewhere Yugi or else the three of you would become too reliant on their powers.'

'Would that really be such a bad thing? Why can't we become reliant on their powers, aren't they our powers too? They are a part of us, just as much as we are a part of them. So surely... surely we can be a little bit selfish in our demands.'

'You really don't get what it means to be a host if you're thinking like that,' the sound of his voice made Yugi start more than a little.

'Tristan,' Yugi turned round to face him and the image of the pharaoh disappeared, 'what are you doing here?'

'Do they know what's wrong with Téa yet?' Tristan folded his arms and appeared to ignore Yugi's question.

'No,' he turned his gaze back towards her, 'but they're still running tests right now.'

'You know the First's healing power also allows her to sense what's wrong with people, right?' Tristan moved to Yugi's side. 'Since I got at least eighty percent of Win's healing power I'm capable of it too. Or I would be if I had access to my powers right now.'

'I'm not capable of releasing your powers Tristan,' Yugi shot him a look, 'and even if I was, I'm pretty sure it's not something I'd want to do. You and Kaiba asked for those powers to be blocked, so...'

'Hey, who said I was asking you to unblock my powers?' Tristan rolled his eyes. 'I'm not here about that.'

'So then why are you here?'

For a few long moments Tristan was silent and his whole body was tense. With so many conflicting emotions flooding in from the rest of the hospital it was impossible for Yugi to tell what was going on with his friend on an emotional level, but that didn't mean his body language wasn't saying more than enough.

'We need your help,' Tristan's voice was as tense as his body.

'You need my help?' Yugi cocked an eyebrow at him. 'I didn't think _you_ came to us for help anymore. I thought it would be too much communication for you.'

'Ha, ha, very funny. Look, don't think this is easy for me, because trust me, it's not. But something's going on here and it may be connected to whatever's wrong with Téa, so it might be in your best interest to help us.'

'Could you have made that sound any less like a veiled threat if you tried,' Yugi rolled his eyes. 'There are better ways of convincing someone to help you know.'

'I'm sorry; I told you this isn't exactly easy for me. Asking for help. Letting people back in. Its things my counsellor is getting me to work on.'

'I'm sorry,' Yugi shifted his gaze, suddenly feeling inexplicably guilty, 'I'll help, but... first of all you need to tell me what's going on.'

* * *

Ahna placed the baby monitor down on the table and took a seat. Her eyes then focused in on the boy claiming to be her son. A part of her wasn't sure whether or not she should believe him, but a greater part of her was just plain curious. After all, how often did you get a visitor from the future?

'So... how old are you?' Catilin tilted her head to one side.

'Sixteen years and one month exactly,' he gave a nervous laugh and scratch the back of his head. 'I guess I'm too old to think of it like that, but...'

'Have you been to the past before?'

'Yeah, I'm not sure how many trips I've actually made, but this is my fourth attempt at changing things,' his face became tight and serious, 'my first three attempts were around my birth, but they all failed miserably.'

'You can't change a birth,' Catilin's voice was very matter of fact, 'they're set in stone.'

'I know, but deaths are not, so if I've only got one shot left to change things then I have to concede that this is where my greatest chance of success lies.' A weak smile formed on Crovell's face. 'We started formulating this plan a month ago, but we couldn't do anything until the right window of opportunity opened up. It was a little bit frustrating waiting on one, especially when the timing cut itself so fine.'

'Window of opportunity?' Ahna cocked an eyebrow at him.

'Err... yeah; it's what we've been calling the useful pockets of temporal anomalies we've been using. There isn't much room for manipulation on them so it's easier to wait for one which is close to what you need and then go from there,' he pulled a face. 'I understand how it all works, but if you want a proper explanation I'd really ask Jo; I'm not very good at the whole explaining thing, I guess because I'm not very patient either.'

'Who's Jo?' Catilin pushed her lips into a thoughtful pout.

'Sorry, I thought I told you already, she's my sister.'

'You have a sister?' Ahna wasn't sure how she felt about that.

'I have three. Jo's the oldest and the only one belonging to Mai. The other two, Hazelnut and Lilac, are yours and Covo's.'

'I wish you hadn't told me that,' Ahna sighed, 'now if Covo and I don't work out...'

'There's just no way the two of you won't work out Mum... err...' he gave a nervous laugh, 'sorry, I guess I shouldn't call you that, it must be a little weird for you. But... well like I was trying to say, there's just no way you and Covo won't work out. You were meant to be together, I promise.'

'And there you go adding more pressure onto things,' she shook her head. 'I was perfectly happy not knowing any of this you know.'

'I'm sorry...' he lowered his gaze, 'I guess I didn't really think about what I was saying. Jo's always said that was one of my worst qualities.'

'So if hiet braysta and Mai had a baby together, does that mean they passed the law then?' Catilin clapped her hands together like a little school girl.

'The law?' Crovell frowned for a moment. 'You mean the one about marrying Standings?'

'Uh-huh.'

'Yeah... yeah they passed it, but... it wasn't Mai and my father who got to use it.'

'Why not?'

'I told you I came back here to stop a death, didn't I?' Crovell's jaw line hardened. 'Take a wild guess who's death it is I'm here to stop.'

'Joey's...' Duke spoke for the first time, his voice more than a little tight, 'when...?'

'Tomorrow. He's supposed to die tomorrow.'

'I don't understand,' Catilin frowned, 'if hiet braysta is supposed to die tomorrow then how does Mai have Jo?'

'Mai's already pregnant,' Crovell shrugged, 'I guess she must be about four or five weeks by now, if my maths right that is.'

'But she hasn't said anything.'

'She doesn't know yet,' he pulled a face, 'the way things went originally it was only after Joey's death she found out.'

'You said Joey, not Veronie,' Catilin leant towards him, 'but you're Silkoneon, shouldn't you use his Silkoneon name if you're not calling him Dad?'

'I wouldn't call him _Dad_ anyway; I've always referred to him as father. You can't call someone you've never met your dad. And as for calling him Joey, well Josephine... Jo... was named after him, so when we had to use his name all four of us have always called him Joey. We never saw any reason not to.'

'Are the four of you close then?' Ahna studied him for a moment, trying to figure out exactly what kind of brother he was.

'Yeah, but we've had to be,' he got to his feet and turned away from them. 'The world I'm living in now is complete and utter hell. Survivors are few and far between, not that it will matter for much longer. No matter what I manage to achieve here the world I've come from won't exist for very much longer anyway. Jo and I will be the only things to survive, but neither of us want that. Not if it means losing what little we have left of our family and not even having graves to visit when they're gone. We've lost too much already; we couldn't stand to lose it all for what little we would gain.'

'But what if hiet braysta is meant to die tomorrow,' Catilin's lower lip trembled. 'What if there's no way of stopping it? Some things are just meant to happen you know, even some deaths can't be changed.'

'This one can. I know this one can.'

'How can you be so sure?'

'How can he not be,' a dark voice dripped into the room from the direction of the doorway, 'when he was the one who killed him?'

* * *

'You've slowed their change,' Du studied his brother carefully.

'Of course I have, I wouldn't want you accusing me of trying to take advantage of this situation now, would I?' Sta cocked an eyebrow at him. 'Or is me slowing their transformation just as suspicious as far as you're concerned?'

'I think it requires using a lot more energy than I would have expected from you,' his gaze narrowed. 'And why chose now of all times to do it?'

'Because right now the wolves are in their most perfect state. Animal enough to mindlessly follow orders, but human enough to still be turned back once they've completed their mission.'

'Which will be when, exactly?' Du folded his arms. 'Because right now I'm pretty sure they're hunting the wrong prey.'

'I'm just letting them have their fun, brother,' a wolf like grin spread across his face. 'And the more fun they have the less damage which can be traced back to us.'


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

Nayta took a deep breath in and tried once again to clear all thoughts from her mind. Like all Odraians she only had the natural ability to wield one of eight Elementals and as hers happened to be Riana a daily routine of meditation was an absolute must. Unlike the other seven Elementals, Riana was the hardest to class and had even ended up with multiple modern translations amongst the various Realms and Plains. The most common of these translations was the literal translation of Raw, the interpretive translation of Spirit and the descriptive translation of Aura. But no matter what translation you went by Riana was still the least understood Elemental.

From what Nayta did understand of her own powers, Riana seemed to work by connected an energy source located somewhere deep inside of you with your physical body. It was why Riana allowed a person to increase their strength, speed, stamina, visual prowess, hearing, coordination and a number of other physical skills when the connection was made. On top of this it allowed them access to what was referred to as their aura and transform this _spiritual_ energy into something more physical, such as shields and energy balls.

Both sides of her power made meditation an essential part of her daily routine. She may not have needed to use Riana on a daily basis, but if she didn't allow herself time each day to maintain the connection between her body and her source of power then any time she did go to use it would be like starting from scratch. Besides, meditation allowed her a daily chance to tap into a technique known as Visible Aura, which not only formed the basis of several shields and attacks, it also allowed you to tune up your own mental and emotional wellbeing. It was this side of it she was most interested in.

As her mind slowly cleared the chaos of the day, she began to feel her aura start to show through. This was her favourite part, because it made her feel lighter and carefree. It also gave her the same warm, relaxing sensation you get from slipping into a warm bath, lying back and letting the world outside slip away for a while. So it was just her wretched misfortune that this was the moment a loud, sharp noise cut through the quiet streets outside. Her eyes opened just in time to see a trashcan connect with the window of her shop. It caused a similar, but slightly rougher noise to crash through the air.

Seconds later shadows lurked in the streets outside her window. Shadows of creatures somewhere halfway between a man and a wolf.

'The pack...'

She could feel her heart racing in her chest as she carefully blew out the two candles burning in front of her. The shop instantly dropped into a veil of darkness and under the cover of this she flattered herself against the floor and prayed they wouldn't see her. It took her far too long to realise her aura was still visible. By the time she had one of the male wolf-men had spotted its shifted colours and was making his way towards the shop.

He snarled and growled as his paw-like hands began pounding against the window. His actions were enough to attract the attention of several other pack members and before she knew it a small army of them had gathered outside. Without hesitation she jumped to her feet and raced her way into the back of the shop. Behind her she heard the glass of her shop window smash. Terror gripped her. In their current state every single member of the pack was faster, stronger and a lot more determined than she was. There was no way she was going to be able to outrun them and with their sense of smell hiding wasn't an option either. There was only one thing she could do.

She turned back towards them and concentrated on solidifying her Visible Aura. If she managed it quickly enough it would form a protective shield around her which would keep the wolves at bay at least long enough for them to either get bored or for her to formulate a better plan. She knew her plan was about as far from perfect as you could get, but she didn't care. It was the only option available to her and the one she had to take.

* * *

'Mokuba... I don't understand?' Mai stared at him. 'Why... why would Mokuba do something like this?'

'Because he's a cruel and gutless monster,' Tristan's skeletal face twisted into a disgusted expression, 'with the emphasis being on the gutless.'

'What... what do you mean?'

'It doesn't matter,' Jo glared at Tristan, 'it's a part of our future we're hoping to change.'

Tristan rolled his eyes, folded his arms and turned away from her. It was clear from his reaction he didn't think much of what Jo had said and this just left Mai feeling even more confused.

'Speaking about change, have you been to Téa's grave recently Jo?' Tristan's sounded ever so slightly smug.

'Considering the fact you're little more than a walking corpse Tristan, I would have thought you'd have had a little more respect for the dead,' Jo folded her arms.

'That's rich coming from you,' he rolled his eyes.

'Are you saying I have no respect for the dead?'

'The way I remember it, the only reason you stopped raising the dead was because Crovell told you not to,' Tristan smirked at her. 'And he told you not to because _his_ sisters begged him to talk to you. Because you wouldn't listen to them. Because, as much as you claim to care about them, the only person who's ever really mattered to you is Crovell. It's why you never chose a Daiosen. It's why you've never shed a tear over anybodies' death. It's why you're still choosing to follow his plan even though we all know you've lost heart for it. And why the only reason you even bothered to save your own mother is to ensure you will be born. So you can live for him in whatever changed future you create for yourselves, just like you live for him now.'

'How dare you speak to me like that,' Jo glared at him, 'why don't you just go to hell and die already.'

'Well the go to hell part I can do for you, since I'm already there, but the dying might take a little more work _Princess_.'

A tense silence filled the room and Mai got the sense things were even worse than she could possibly imagine. When they talked about this place being hell, they meant it. When they talked about all the good disappearing from the multiverse, they meant it. This place really was everything they said it was and worse. It was no wonder they wanted to change it, but were the changes they wanted really possible?

Before anyone could say anything else, a dark haired man in his early to mid twenties flew across the room and landed hard against the floor. His hands and feet were bound and he was whimpering like a small child. There was something odd about his appearance, just like there was something odd about the appearance of all the _adults_ she'd encountered in this place so far, but Mai was hard pushed to see what it was. Then the man's blue eyes turned towards her and her heart missed a horrified beat.

'Mokuba...?'

'Mai what's going on?' His voice broke with fear. 'Please, if you know you have to tell me. My brother won't tell me anything. He keeps accusing me of things and I don't understand...'

'Your brother?'

His eyes glanced towards the figure in the doorway and Mai's gaze followed.

'What is the meaning of bringing the heartless beast here Kaiba?' Duke gritted his teeth. 'You were supposed to kill him.'

'The little devil said something interesting,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'I figured it was worth getting Jo to check his story out.'

'You mean, you went soft after all,' Tristan rolled his eyes.

'No, not soft, just curious.'

As he moved further into the room, Mai was able to see that his appearance was just as haunting and skeletal as Tristan's. She didn't know if that made her feel better or worse about the situation, but it did solidify her certainty that the bond between the two of them went a lot deeper than either was willing to admit.

'So what exactly did he say to make you so... _curious_?' Tristan eyed Kaiba up.

'He claimed to have no knowledge of what's going on and when asked he renounced the First.'

'And you fell for his trick?'

'It's not a trick?' Jo gave a heavy sigh. 'He's telling the truth, he really doesn't know what's going on here.'

'Please tell me you're kidding Jo,' Tristan's whole body appeared to tense.

'I wish I could, but I'm not,' she made her way over to Mokuba and began to untie his hands. 'This is not our Mokuba. Our Mokuba took advantage of one of the anomalies floating around and made his way back in time. Crovell's already had the pleasure of encountering him.

'See this is what you get for not killing the wretch when we tell you to,' Duke gave the skeletal Kaiba a hard shove.

'It's not like it was that easy,' Tristan punched Duke, landing a surprisingly hard looking blow against him. 'If it was a half complete man like you could have done it.'

'You know one of these days Tristan you really need to let your little girlfriend stick up for himself,' Duke glared at him as he rubbed his cheek. 'Or don't you think he's enough of a man for that.'

There was a heartbeat of silence and then all hell broke loose as Tristan and Duke began fighting it out. Mai found herself backing away as far as she could. A part of her was surprised at the complete lack of reaction shown by everyone except for Mokuba, who clearly shared Mai's alarm. The scuffle went on for a good couple of minutes, by which time Jo had successfully freed Mokuba from her binds. She then got back to her feet and shot a meaningful look in Kaiba's direction. He shrugged and turned his head away.

Jo rolled her eyes and flicked a dark yellow energy ball into her hand. For a moment she just stood there watching the ongoing brawl, before throwing her energy ball at the pair of them and stopping the fight.

'You almost won that time uncle Duke,' Lilac spoke for the first time, her voice reminding her of Catilin's in so many ways. 'Maybe next time you'll beat uncle Tristan.'

'There won't be a next time Ly,' Tristan smirked, 'the big bad darkness is coming tomorrow and I doubt my old friend here would be stupid enough to challenge me again.'

'I wasn't challenging you, I was challenging him,' Duke glared, 'but I guess as far as you're concerned it's all the same, right?'

'Whatever,' he shrugged and turned away. 'So Jo, how do we fix this little mess the heartless beast created?'

'You mean how do we send this Mokuba back to his own body?' Jo tilted her head in thought. 'There are a few ways; I'm just not sure which will be the best one yet.'

'Wait, you're just going to ignore what just happened, just like that?' Mai gawked at them.

'Friends fight all the time,' Jo waved a dismissive hand at her.

'Not like that they don't.'

'Welcome to our world Mai, we did mention it was hell, right?' Tristan glanced towards her. 'That little scuffle was nothing.'

'How can you be so flippant about it?'

'Because none of this really means anything to any of us anymore,' now it was Duke's turn to shrug and look nonchalant.

'How... how can you think that way?'

'Because we have to,' Jo sighed, 'this is the world we live in Mai; the one we have to change.'

'I can see why,' Mai lowered her gaze, 'I'd really like to go back to my own time now.'

'Of course,' she placed a hand on Mai's arm, before shooting a serious look at the others. 'Before our time is up I will find a way of sending this Mokuba back into his own body, but in the meantime I'm leaving him in your care. I expect you to keep him alive.'

'Whatever,' Duke, Tristan and Kaiba all spoke at pretty much the same time.

'I mean it, if so much as one hair is out of place on his head you won't live to regret it.'

'We're not going to live either way,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'so your little threat really doesn't carry much weight.'

* * *

The second Yugi entered the Kaiba mansion, a strong wave of energy had prickled along his skin. It was enough to bring him to an automatic halt. Tristan also came to a stop and glanced back towards him. The expression on his face was unreadable, but his emotions were not. Yugi's reaction had concerned him and even if he was doing his best to mask any other emotional reaction he might be having behind this wall of concern, it was still enough to make Yugi suspicious.

'What exactly did you say was possessing Mokuba again?' Yugi kept his voice as level as possible.

'I told you, we're not sure,' Tristan turned away from him, 'that's what we need you for. Come on, Seto's waiting for us.'

Tristan made his way forward and Yugi found himself with little else he could do but follow. As they passed the stairway which led up to the second floor the tingling sensation across Yugi's skin got stronger. He again came to a stop, almost certain now the thing he was sensing had nothing to do with Mokuba and everything to do with something even more concerning. The fact Tristan had managed to make his emotions all but unreadable only confirmed this theory.

'Yugi are you okay?' Tristan's voice betrayed nothing.

'I'm not sure,' Yugi began making his way up the stairs, but Tristan stopped him.

'Seto's in one of the downstairs studies,' he pulled on Yugi's arm. 'Come on, it's this way.'

Yugi's eyes moved between the top of the stairs and Tristan for a few moments. He then gave a heavy sigh and allowed himself to be pulled away. A few moments later he found himself inside the small downstairs study. Kaiba was sat at the old fashioned wooden desk, with several books open in front of him. His eyes lifted towards them the second they entered and he turned the book he was reading round towards them.

'You're thinking this is some kind of temporal anomaly now?' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at him as he stared down at the page they were presented with.

'It makes sense, doesn't it?' Kaiba shrugged. 'Especially if you're right about the kid being involved.'

'The kid?' Yugi frowned. 'What kid?'

'He calls himself CL and he claims to be from the future,' Tristan folded his arms as he continued to study the book in front of him.

'Wait... CL?' Yugi felt a jolt of inexplicable fear run through him. 'He wouldn't be this really weird, sandy blond kid by any chance, would he?'

'I take it you've met him too then?'

'Yeah, but he said nothing to me about being from the future,' Yugi shook his head, 'although that really would explain some of his behaviour. But... do you really think he could be behind everything that's going on here?'

'As much as I don't want to think that _thing_ is anything to do with my brother, it would be in keeping with what CL told me about Mokuba's future self,' Kaiba clasped his hands together in front of him. 'But regardless of what it is, we have to find a way of getting my real brother back and we need your help for that.'

'Of course,' Yugi nodded, 'but you never mentioned anything about this CL kid to me before,' his gaze focused on Tristan, 'so I think a little explanation might be in order.'


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

'How can he not be,' Mokuba smirked at them from the doorway, 'when he was the one who killed him.'

'I didn't kill him,' Crovell glared, 'the First let him die.'

'But he wouldn't have been dying in the first place, if it wasn't for you.'

'I was a month old and it was in self-defence,' he gritted his teeth.

'Aw poor baby; had to kill his own daddy to save himself.'

'I did nothing wrong; it's the First's fault for not saving him.'

'Is that really what you think?' Mokuba gave a disgusted laugh. 'Or are you just so used to making her the enemy you can't see her as anything else? The First couldn't save Joey; it's your fault he died and no one else's. And with the sheer amount of blood on your hands it's a wonder anyone believes anything else.'

'The blood on my hands is nothing compared to the blood on yours,' Crovell held firm. 'You're nothing more than a murderous, gutless monster who doesn't deserve to live.'

'You might want to rethink that statement a little,' Mokuba slapped his hand against his stomach twice, 'only I'm not quite so gutless right now.'

'Monster, I should kill you were you stand.'

'And further the stain of blood on your hands; won't that set a nice impression for you?'

Crovell let out a deep throated growl.

'That's right wolf, resort to noises over words,' he turned his nose up in disgust. 'You call me a monster when you're little more than an animal yourself.'

'Mokuba what's gotten into you?' Duke took up a defensive stance in front of Crovell.

'It's alright Duke, I can defend myself,' Crovell placed a hand on his arm and pulled him back. 'I've dealt with this abomination often enough.'

'Who are you,' Catilin took a step towards Mokuba, 'the air around you vibrates all wrong. You don't belong in that body, so who are you?'

'Lilac really does talk like you,' Crovell's face filled with a sad smile. 'I always thought I just wanted to hear her that way after...'

'After Jo killed her,' Mokuba's voice cruelly cut through his sentence.

'Shut up,' Crovell glared at him, flicking a red energy ball into his hands as he did. 'Jo spent months agonising over her decision, even when she knew it was the right choice to make. She did Catilin a kindness and I will _not_ allow you to make anyone think otherwise.'

'You talk about kindness when you have no idea what kindness is,' Mokuba shook his head.

'As if you can talk,' Crovell threw the energy ball at him, but Mokuba vanished before it could hit. 'Damn.'

'Damn's right, you could have killed me,' Mokuba reappeared with a darkly angry look on his face.

'I was trying to.'

'Crovell?' Ahna stared at him.

'He's not the Mokuba you know,' his voice rolled with notes of disgust and anger. 'He's the heartless monster from my time come back to try and stop me from saving Joey.'

'Again,' Mokuba hit his palm against his chest, 'you might want to rethink your description of me a little; along with your logic by the sounds of it. What makes you think I've come back here to stop you from _saving_ Joey?'

'Because you only gained the position of power you have because the First was up there,' Crovell pointed upwards. 'What would you have to gain from keeping Joey alive?'

'A future which doesn't end sixteen years from now,' he folded his arms. 'I don't want my fun to come to an end anymore than you do Crovell. The only way I can make sure of that is by keeping Joey alive.'

'So then why are you here?'

'To make sure you don't follow through with the rest of your plan,' his face filled with an amused look, 'by killing you.'

* * *

Nayta's heart was pounding hard in her chest; every second they were getting closer and closer to her. Her whole body shook with fear as she listened to the deep growls emanating from their throats and the dead footed sound of their footsteps across her shop floor. She knew in order to turn her Visible Aura into a working shield, she had to concentrate and calm down. But at that moment in time panic had taken over.

She squeezed her eyes shut and started praying. Almost as soon as she had something which felt like a spark of electricity pulsated around her neck. Flinging her eyes open, she glanced down at the Matra she was still wearing. It was glowing in a swirl of four different colours; red orange, pink and silver. She'd never seen anything like it before in her life and she didn't quite know whether she should be relieved or terrified.

The growling stopped causing her eyes to shift up towards the human-like wolves. They were slowly backing away as though the glowing Matra had turned her into a larger predator. As the glow became brighter, the level of fear in their eyes increased. Nayta took a step towards them, trying to make herself appear bigger and less afraid than she really was. It was enough to send the wolves running from the shop. As she breathed a sigh of relief, the sound of distant howling met her ears.

Her hand moved towards the still glowing Matra, not sure whether it was safer to take it off or keep it on. As her hand touched it a jolt of pain shocked its way through her whole body. Her breath became shallow and jagged as her chest tightened and her heartbeat became erratic. It caused her mind to race with fear as she realised she'd replaced one threat with another. In desperation Nayta tried to pull the Matra off, but as she did her eyes became filled with a blinding light and she felt herself become woozy and nauseous.

'Dear child,' a voice sounded out of the blinding light, 'I welcome you to the land of the dead.'

* * *

'Okay,' Tristan folded his arms, 'where do you want us to start.'

'How about the beginning,' Yugi cocked an eyebrow at him. 'How did you even meet this CL guy to begin with?'

'It was whilst Tristan was in the psychiatric hospital,' Kaiba's voice was strangely calm.

'No, it was before then,' Tristan shook his head. 'That might have been when you met him, but he'd approached me before, after I first left Domino.'

'You never told me that,' Kaiba frowned.

'I've never really thought about it before,' he shrugged. 'At the time he was little more than a face to me and I wasn't in the right headspace to really pay attention to what he was saying.'

'And what was he saying?' Yugi studied Tristan for a moment.

'Honestly, I don't remember much about that first encounter,' he rubbed the back of his neck as his face filled with a tense expression. 'But then it was right before my first attempt...' he shifted his gaze away.

'Okay, what about that conversation we saw you guys having in the hospital, when you mentioned something about a kid. How long after Kaiba had met him was that?' Yugi flicked his gaze between them.

'A couple of weeks I think,' Kaiba pulled a face.

'We'd seen him at least twice by that point,' Tristan tilted his head to one side. 'He was very persistent even from the start; it was something I never really liked about him.'

'I thought you couldn't remember anything which happened when the Pure and Win were in control,' Yugi narrowed his gaze on both of them, suddenly feeling more than a little suspicious. 'I can't remember if that scene came before or after Kaiba was released from the Pure, but I do know you shouldn't be able to remember it.'

'Who says I remember watching it,' Tristan shifted his gaze away. 'But I would have been there when it originally happened, remember? If it's the conversation I think it is then what I'm saying is correct.'

'You remember I'm an empath, right? I can tell when you're lying.' Yugi focused his gaze on him.

'No, you can tell when I'm hiding something from you,' Tristan met his gaze. 'I could be keeping something from you without lying.'

'And are you?'

'Am I what?'

'Keeping something from me?'

Kaiba and Tristan exchanged looks, but said nothing.

'Look, I agreed to help you because we all know something big is happening here and that CL guy is probably behind it. But I can't work with you if you're keeping things from me and neither can the Face of Friendship. So what the hell is really going on here?'

The silence continued, but their guilty emotions and awkward body movement said more than their words ever could. Yugi turned away from them and began making his way out of the room. If they thought they could hide things from him...

'Wait,' Tristan caught hold of his arm, 'we'll tell you, it's just... you have to hear us out.'

'Tristan,' there was more than a slight warning tone in Kaiba's voice.

'If this is the only way he's going to trust us Seto, then what other choice do we have. We have to tell him the _truth_.'


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Almost as soon as Jo and Mai had left, the skeletal Tristan and Kaiba had turned on Mokuba. Within seconds he found himself being roughly dragged from the room they were in into a larger and clearly better used one halfway down the hall. He was then slammed roughly into an old chair as Duke and the two girls entered.

'Did you bring the rope with you?' Kaiba flicked his gaze up towards Duke as his claw-like hands held Mokuba in place.

'What do you think I am, some kind of idiot,' Duke held up the rope he was holding.

'I knew there was a reason we were friends,' Tristan smirked at him as Duke made his way across the room.

With all three of them proving to be stronger and more determined than he was, there was little Mokuba could do other than allow them to tie him to the chair. As they did so his eyes couldn't help but stare almost pleadingly at the two girls. The eldest just stood there, with an emotionless expression on her face and her arms folded as though she couldn't perceive any reason as to why she should care about him. The youngest was harder to read, with the look on her face being somewhere between curiosity and pain.

'The air wavers around him,' the younger girl's voice was strangely soft, 'he doesn't belong here.'

'Then it's just his misfortune he happens to be here then,' Duke gave the chair a hard shove, almost knocking it over in the process.

'He's not the monster yet, but he's the baby, right? He's the baby who'll grow into the monster,' her eyes fixed on Mokuba.

'I guess that's up to him, isn't it?' Duke flicked the spot between Mokuba's eyes causing a mild sensation of irritation and pain. 'So little baby, do you plan on growing up into a monster?'

Duke held his face so close to Mokuba's he found it impossible not to stare into his discoloured right eye. It made everything inside him squirm with discomfort and fear.

'Is there a right answer to that question?' Mokuba's voice came out as little more than a whimper of fear.

This response caused Duke, Tristan and Kaiba to laugh. The elder of the two girls then made her way towards him, coming to a stop about three feet away.

'You're not good, you're just pathetic.'

'Now that's a little harsh even for you Hazelnut,' the look on Kaiba's face suggested he was somewhat proud of her.

'Well it's the truth, isn't it? He's done nothing but whimper and whine since you brought him here. Maybe we should just put him out of his misery already.'

'Aw but Hazelnut, what fun would that be?' Duke wagged a finger at her. 'We need to send the baby home with a very clear message, don't we? How else are we going to make sure he doesn't grow up into a monster?'

'I... I don't understand,' Mokuba squeezed his eyes shut, 'why do you keep calling me a monster? What did I do that was so bad?'

'Oh it would take all day to list the reasons why we hate you,' Duke's voice was deathly calm. 'In fact it would be easier to list the reasons why we hate the First.'

'You hate the First?' Mokuba opened his eyes again, not sure if he felt as shocked as he should have.

'Of course we hate the First; it's her apathy which got us into this mess to begin with. Because she did nothing the multiverse is dying. Because she did nothing our Realm descended into hell. Because she did nothing you were allowed to get away with murder time and time again.'

'It's like vicious cycle really,' Tristan shook his head, 'she allowed you to turn into a monster so we hate her for that, then we hate you for everything you've done and in turn we hate her because we know she created you. Well... allowed for you at any rate,' he glared. 'I guess what I'm trying to say is, we hate her because of you and you because of her in equal turns. But unlike you her worse crime was doing nothing.'

'And... and mine?'

'Too many to count.'

Mokuba swallowed hard and wished Duke had given any other answer than that one. He didn't want to believe he'd grown into the monster they were accusing him of, but what other choice did he have. Their anger and hatred for him were more than apparent. It made every inch of his soul hurt, as though he was taking on the guilt his future self should have been feeling. That's if this future self of his was even capable of any kind of guilt. From what he'd heard so far Mokuba highly doubted it.

'So... when did the others die?'

'Mostly within the last few years,' Duke half turned away from him, 'but Joey died about sixteen years ago.'

'And... and how many of them did I... was I... I mean... am I responsible...?'

'You want to know how many of them you killed, don't you, you bastard,' Duke's fist collided with the side of his face so hard Mokuba could feel his head spinning. 'Just how sick are you?'

'I... I'm not... I didn't mean... I...'

'I think the baby monster's curious,' Kaiba crouched in front of him, his voice deliberately taunting. 'He wants to know how much pain he's caused so he can understand just how much we hate him.'

'Why? Why would _you_ want to know that? What kind of pleasure would _you_ get out of something like that?' Duke's expression was filled with a cold kind of anger.

'I wouldn't... I... I'm not...' Mokuba shook his head. 'This isn't about that. I... I just want to understand...'

'I can't speak for the others, but if you truly want to understand how much _I _hate you there's only one person on the list you need to know. My son.'

'Wh-what?'

'My son Mokuba, you killed my son.' Duke's jaw line hardened as his teeth gritted together. 'It's the only reason I need to hate you and believe me when I say it's a good enough one.'

* * *

As the light around her dimmed, the face of a beautiful dark haired woman came into focus. The woman was dressed in a gorgeous black Grecian styled tunic and she was sat on a large stone pedestal.

'Forgive me,' the woman apologised, 'I didn't mean to frighten you. I just enjoy my work a little too much sometimes, especially when I know the person I'm talking to isn't truly one of mine yet.'

'Where… where am I?'

'The waiting room or at least that's what most people call it.'

'The waiting room...?'

'It's where I greet the newly dead for the first time,' she smiled, 'most don't remember being here, but all know of this place.'

'I... I'm dead?'

'Temporarily my dear; it was as necessary as it was unavoidable I'm afraid.'

'I... I don't understand. Why... why am I here?'

'Because my first meeting with the newly dead is the only time that my husband does not spy on my activities,' she turned her head away. 'I do not fear my husband, but my body is still recovering from the last time I fell foul of his temper.'

But... why? Why do you need to talk to me at all? I don't understand.'

'It is no secret that my husband and I don't agree on a lot of things. It's why we both handle different sides of the death and afterlife process,' she met Nayta's gaze. 'But I've never completely disapproved of something he's been involved with or at least supported before. Not like this at any rate. And the truth is, I'm not just going up against my husband right now, I'm going up against the entire Wen.'

'What?'

'I'm sure you're more than aware of the fact something went wrong during yesterday's eclipse; the reasons you're here more than proves that. But what you probably don't realise right now is who or what hijacked the wolves.'

'Hijacked?'

'Stolen, controlled, hijacked, does it really matter what term I use, it's all the same really.'

'I... I guess. But... are you saying the Wen are behind it?'

'I am.'

'But I don't understand; why would they do that? What… what are they planning to do?'

'They plan to kill a baby,' she folded her arms as a tense smile of amusement pulled at her lips.

'A... a baby?' Nayta felt confused.

'Not just any baby, obviously. I mean, to take control of an entire pack of wolves just to kill one infant is… unorthodox to say the least. But considering who and what the child is there aren't many other ways they could kill it.'

'But... why?'

'Power, my dear. There's never been a child like this one before. He's destined to grow up to be more powerful than all three Mistresses combined and for that reason the Wen view him as a threat. However they have a brief and steadily closing window of opportunity in which to kill him. The child may be the multiverse's first mortal immortal, but because he was born prematurely his immortality hasn't come into effect yet.'

'But it will soon?'

'The second he reaches the date his gestation should have ended he will become immortal.'

'You mean the second he reaches the day he was due to be born?'

'You have your way of saying it, I have mine.'

'You don't think this child deserves to die then?'

'The Fay... or at least most of the Fay, my sister and myself all understand the true importance of this child. Yes it will bring about a change in the order of things, but this multiverse needs to evolve if it is to continue to survive. Anyone resisting change is only bringing about a quicker end to all of us.'

'I see... I think I understand what you're saying.'

'Good, so you will help me then.'

'Of course my Lady.'

'Please Nayta; I am not your Lady yet. Just call me Dee.'

'Okay my, err… Dee, what is it you wish me to do?'

'I need you to take a message to an impish young friend of mine. Once you have delivered it you will be returned to your body, no harm done. From there, however, the choice will be yours. You can either help to protect the child or you can continue with your life, no expectations, no bonds, no bounds. Understand?'

'Yes.'

'Good. Now you must go to the chamber of the three Mistresses, for that is where I sense my friend is and tell him they're after the First's child. They are after Crovell.'


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

For the longest time there was silence, a silence created by Tristan's own inability to get any words out. He knew they had to tell Yugi something close to the truth without necessarily revealing the whole truth, but it was impossible to know where to start.

'Look if you're not going to tell me what's going on,' Yugi again made his way towards the door, forcing Tristan to grab hold of his arm once more in order to stop him.

'I'm sorry, it's just not that easy,' Tristan gave a heavy sigh. 'I stopped opening up to people, remember? I don't fully understand why I became so closed off, it's one of the reasons Dr Charm says I still find it so hard to be around you guys, never mind talking to you about anything that matters. So just give me a chance, okay?'

'Fine,' he rolled his eyes, 'but last I checked there were two of you.'

'And you really think I enjoy talking anymore than he does,' Kaiba made a noise of disgust. 'I'm not overly happy about asking for your help in the first place.'

'But you do need my help, right? Both of you have pretty much told me that,' Yugi held firm. 'But I can't give it to you if I can't trust you. So at least try to tell me what's really going on here.'

In response Tristan pulled his stress ball out of his pocket and began bouncing it off of the wall behind Kaiba. His throws were as hard and tense as he was, but the rhythm allowed him to focus in on what he had to say without having to focus on who he was saying it too.

'CL told us our plan would fail from the start,' he kept his voice as level as possible. 'Although I think failure was just the way he saw the outcome, as far as we're concerned we didn't fail. We just didn't manage to accomplish everything we were hoping to.'

'But you failed to usurp the First and you failed to keep your hands on the child,' Yugi frowned, 'wasn't that like over half of your plan?'

'Even if we'd managed to walk away with the child at the time, our likelihood of holding onto it for long would have been slim at best,' Kaiba clasped his hands together in front of him and focused his gaze on Yugi.

'We knew we wouldn't be the ones raising the child even if we followed CL's plan instead of our own,' Tristan clenched the ball in his hand for a moment, before throwing it again. 'He was strangely insistent we find some way of managing it, but... our plans concerning him were always more long term; he may not be completely useless to us as a baby, but we'll benefit far more from his presence when he's a little bit older.'

'Raising him would have guaranteed our control over him,' Kaiba tilted his head to one side, 'nothing more.'

'And as for trying to usurp the First, we pretty much knew we were never going to achieve that on our own anyway. That's why our plan was always long term.'

'So you still think the Pure should be in control then,' Yugi's gaze flicked between the two of them. 'You know I'm never going to agree with that, right?'

'We don't expect you too,' Tristan shook his head, 'we don't really want you to either. You all misinterpreted what Duke meant when he said we were talking about forming a triad with Crovell. Then again we were hoping you would.'

'So... you wanted to put Win in control instead?' Yugi stared at him.

'Not Win.'

'Then who?'

'Crovell,' Kaiba's voice was almost toneless.

'What?' Yugi stared at him.

'We're doing this for Crovell,' Tristan squeezed the stress ball as tight as he could. 'He is the future, not us; he is the change to the order of things which will make everything better. Don't you get that? He's what we've all been sensing, the great force of change we all knew was coming. Crovell's the one who needs to usurp the First, not us.'

* * *

'Why... why would you want to kill Crovell?' Catilin's voice was bleating and innocent.

'Because if I don't he'll try to usurp the First,' Mokuba's dark gaze fixed on Crovell. 'That's what his ultimate goal is here you know. This has nothing to do with saving his father and everything to do with making sure nothing stands in his way of ultimate power.'

'Crovell, is this true?' Ahna found herself backing away from him. 'Are you really planning to usurp the First?'

Crovell's jaw line hardened, but he remained silent.

'Crovell you know the First needs to be in control, right?' She pressed. 'Not just because she was the first being in existence, but because the whole balance of the multiverse depends on her. Surely you must know that.'

As Ahna spoke she watched Crovell's face crease with a mixture of anger and hatred.

'The First holds everything together, without her all hell would break loose.'

'No, you're wrong,' Crovell's words burst out of him like bullets. 'She's nothing but a failure. All she's ever been good at is losing control.'

'Losing control?'

'All my life the First has done nothing but sit back and allow bad things to happen. She let my father die. She let numerous incarnations of the Reganna run wild in various Realms throughout the multiverse. She allowed realities to start dying off one by one, without doing a thing to stop it.' Crovell seethed. 'Worse still she prevented anyone who could do something about it from acting. She stopped me, she stopped Jo, the Pure, the Face of Friendship, the parts of Win who were willing to help. She stopped all of us, because she didn't think it was our place to interfere. Or at least that's what she kept feeding to us until that wretched monster stared acting in her name,' Crovell jabbed a finger at Mokuba. 'At that point she preferred to pretend we didn't exist rather than answer any of our questions. But by that point it didn't matter because we all knew the truth. The First wanted the multiverse to come to an end, because she was just as dark and corrupted as the rest of us.'

'I don't understand,' Ahna found herself backing away from him, 'what are you saying?'

'I'm saying the First is evil and I have to be the one to stop her. And that starts by making sure my father doesn't die.'

'This is madness,' she pressed her hands against her face, 'I honestly can't believe I'm hearing this.'

'Oh dear Crovell, looks like you're disappointing Mummy,' Mokuba taunted.

'Shut up you monster,' Crovell went for him, but Duke held him back. 'Don't think I won't tell them what your part in the hell we come from really is, you despicable creature.'

'You're really calling me the despicable creature? There's just as much blood on your hands as there is on mine.'

'That might be true, but at least I feel guilty about it. You on the other hand... I doubt you even remember what human emotions feel like.'

'You're right,' a cruel grin spread across his face, 'so what am I doing wasting my time with you when I could be talking to _them_? After all, I'm going to need _them_ if I'm going to dispose of you.'

'Mokuba...' Crovell growled out the word, but before he'd even finished Mokuba had completely disappeared. 'Bastard, this is exactly why I told them to deal with _him_.'

'If you wanted him dealt with so badly, you should have done it yourself,' an unfamiliar female voice sounded out of the shadows around them.

'Shut up Jo,' he gritted his teeth, 'you were the one who said they could handle it.'


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

'Oh my gods, you're kidding me right,' Korin laughed as she exchanged amused looks with Jay. 'You can't seriously be telling me all this really happened.'

'I am.'

'No wonder Macar's been so cagey about it all,' she shook her head, 'if anyone were to know about this stuff... anyone who shouldn't I mean... it could do some serious damage. I guess damage is the right word,' she frowned in thought for a moment.

'It's okay, I know what you mean.'

'And you've genuinely been evil,' her eyes glistened with excitement, 'I've never met anyone who's genuinely been evil before.'

'That's not a good thing Korin,' Covo glared at her.

'Oh come on Macar, you know I've always had a thing for the bad boys,' she laughed, 'it's why finding out I was a Silkoneon was such a drag, there's just no excitement anymore.'

'Please Korin, I know you a little better than that,' he scowled. 'You like people to think you're adventurous and daring, but the truth is you're just as straight laced as I am. Hell even if we didn't end up here you would have eventually picked being a chef over being a hairdresser anyway because you've always liked the thought of a steady and reliable income and don't have the patience to be self-employed.'

'You don't know that,' Korin pouted, 'I could have made it work if I wanted to.'

'You could have made one or the other work, not both,' he shook his head, 'and we both know given the choice you'd be a chef.'

'Believe whatever you want to Macar, we both know you will anyway,' she rolled her eyes.

'You know I've been thinking about that guy,' SK licked his lips as he interrupted their conversation.

'What guy?' Jay shot him a look.

'Err… the one who's holding us captive or had you forgotten about him?'

'Oh _that_ guy,' now it was Jay's turn to roll his eyes, 'what about him?'

'Well... he has a Sintoy, right? And like you pointed out, that has to make him Silkoneon, doesn't it?'

'Well... yeah.'

'And if you're theory is correct then he's also a dead Silkoneon...'

'Just where are you going with this SK,' Jay frowned at him.

'Well I was just wondering, does death affect the colour of a person's Sintoy?'

For a few long moments Jay's face filled with a thoughtful expression. Then he rolled his shoulders forward in a kind of shrug and shook his head.

'I've never come across it and nor has Octan.'

'What do you think you know SK?' Covo studied the dead guy for a few moments.

'Well like I said before, Jay thinks this guy is dead because he can use something called ASP,' SK gave a nervous cough.

'Actually I believe I said it was because he was too young to have mastered that technique,' Jay corrected, 'more than the fact he could use it.'

'Same difference as far as I'm concerned,' SK shrugged before licking his lips again. 'Anyway, if death doesn't affect a Sintoy's colour, then I imagine neither would ASP, right?'

'Probably not,' Covo continued to study him, waiting for some kind of point. 'I mean, I'm no expert here, but... well it seems unlikely that it would.'

'As Silkoneons you're pretty up on the traditional Sintoys of other houses, right?'

'Well that's a vast generalisation,' Korin rolled her eyes.

'No its not,' Jay laughed, 'in fact Silkoneons pride themselves on it.' He shot SK a knowing look. 'I think I know where you're going with this.'

'If anyone will know this, it'll be them, right?' SK licked his lips once again.

'Right,' he smirked. 'And, as much as I hate to admit it SK, for once you seem to be one step ahead of me,' he smirked. 'So you wanna ask them then?'

'Okay,' SK took a deep breath, before staring back across at them. 'So which of you can tell me the name of the house that traditionally has a blue wolf as their Sintoy?'

'Blue wolf?' Korin laughed with a mixture of shock and nerves. 'I... I don't understand.'

'There's never been a Silkoneon house with a blue wolf as their Sintoy,' Covo shook his head. 'I think there may have been a few isolated cases of them, but... nothing well known and definitely nothing I could tell you anything definite about.'

'Except...' Korin hesitated, before biting her lower lip.

'Except what?' Jay stared at her.

'Catilin's vision,' she exchanged a look with Covo.

'Cat had a vision about a blue wolf?' Jay jumped to his feet and moved towards the bars of the cage.

'We thought it might have just been some kind of symbolic representation of the Lutoni house,' Covo exchanged a look with Korin. 'I mean... that was the theory we were working on. I can't say I was overly convinced by it, but... given the rest of the symbolism in the vision it felt like a pretty good theory to be working with.'

'But does that mean Catilin's vision was about the future and not the past then?' Korin pulled a face. 'I mean, could the blue wolf and this guy actually be from the future or something?'

'That's just not possible,' Jay's voice was blunt, 'no Silkoneon has ever had temporal abilities.'

'Maybe not, but... we also can't prove any Silkoneon has ever been a blue wolf before either,' Covo met his gaze. 'Maybe be, just maybe, we're dealing with a completely unknown factor here.'

'He's got a point Jay,' SK licked his lips again, but before he could say anything else a familiar young woman entered the chamber.

'Nayta?' Covo took a half horrified step backwards. 'How did you get here?'

'Covo?' Nayta's eyes bulged with a similar level of surprise. 'What's going on? Why are you in cages?'

'We're being held captive.'

'By who?'

'Well, from what we can work out, he's some future guy with a blue wolf as his Sintoy. Go figure,' he shrugged. 'Now tell me what you're doing here.'

'I was recruited by Lady… err Dee to deliver a message.'

'Dee sent you here?' Jay moved as close to her as his caged position would allow.

'Yeah,' Nayta nodded, 'she told me the person I needed to deliver her message to would be in this room.'

'Figures,' Jay smirked and lowered his head a little, 'but how did you get up here in the first place?'

'Well…' she hesitated.

'Well what?'

'Well apparently I'm temporarily dead.'

'Oh my god Nayta,' Korin stared at her, 'I'm so sorry.'

'Don't worry about me too much; once I've delivered my message I get my life back. Remember I said I was only temporarily dead,' she laughed.

'Well that's Dee's style alright,' Jay grinned. 'But before you give us the message, do you think you could try and help us out of these cages? They're magic proofed from the inside, but maybe there's something you can do from out there.'

'But I'm Odraian.'

'So you can only use one Elemental instead of eight, big deal. Look, there's no harm in trying, just do what you can okay?'

'No, you don't understand, I'm a Riana Elementalist.'

'And you're wearing a Matra?' Jay's face filled with an odd look. 'Don't you know that's like a death sentence?'

'What do you mean?'

'Oh come on, you're an Odraian for crying out loud. You of all people should know how dangerous Matras are to Riana and Flayer users.'

'Don't you think you're over reacting a little there Jay,' SK cocked an eyebrow at him.

'No I do not,' Jay shook his head. 'Matras are used to protect against Flayer and Riana based attacks. People who use only those Elementals should _never_ wear a Matra, not unless they have a serious death wish.'

'Because it causes the Elemental to back fire,' Nayta's jaw dropped open in realisation, 'that's why it started emitting a funny glow.'

'And it would explain why Dee chose you,' he gave a strangely muted half laugh. 'I'll bet you anything within a few more seconds you'd probably have killed yourself for real anyway.'

'Well I guess that'll be the first thing I take off when I get back.'

'Are you crazy?' Covo's voice came out as more of a squeak than he'd meant it too. 'What about the wolves?'

'Wolves?' SK stared at him.

'Yeah, the wolves are frightened of the Matra for some reason.'

'Because they're being controlled by Sta,' Jay gave a loud groan, 'how did I not figure that out sooner?'

'Probably because you have the same god induced hangover I do,' SK gave a heavy sigh as his tongue skated across his lips for the millionth time. 'They were trying to distract us and keep us distracted.'

'Well they succeeded, that's for sure,' Jay pressed his right hand against his forehead. 'Remind me never to drink again.'

'Dee did say all the Wen were in on it,' Nayta lowered her gaze slightly. 'They want...' she hesitated.

'They want what?' Jay frowned at her.

'I can't, not yet, if I tell you then I'll have delivered my message and there'll be no one left to help you.'

'There's not really a whole lot you can do to help us, except maybe deliver a message for us.'

'Okay,' Nayta smiled at him, 'but you better tell me your message first, I might not get a chance to hear it else.'

'Of course,' he nodded. 'I want you to go to Catilin and tell her and the others we are being held captive by a blue wolf and to send help when she can. Got it?'

'Got it.'

'Good,' Jay met her gaze. 'Now what's your message?'

'It's about the Wen, the reason they're doing all this,' Nayta pressed her lips together, 'they're after Crovell.'


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

A noise of disbelief came out of Yugi as he shook his head and made his way towards the door. Instantly he felt Tristan's hand on his arm again, stopping him from moving. He turned back towards his old friend allowing their gazes to meet.

'What's the problem now, we've told you the truth,' Tristan held his gaze.

'You honestly expect me to believe you're doing all this for Crovell?' Yugi shook his head. 'Kaiba's not the type to share his glory with anyone and nor is the Pure.'

'Maybe not normally, but this isn't a normal circumstance. This is about the fate of the multiverse. You must know we're not lying to you.'

'But you are still hiding something from me, I can tell,' Yugi broke away from him and made his way out of the room.

Without even waiting to see what the other two would do, he made his way towards the staircase. The energy, or whatever it was, he'd been sensing before was still there and still just as strong. He made his way up to the second floor and allowed the energy to lead him towards its source. The room he entered was small and almost completely empty. The only item of furniture in the whole room was a simple wooden table along the far wall and on this table rested a beautifully ornate butterfly head axe. There was no doubt in Yugi's mind that the axe was the source of the energy he'd been sensing, what he didn't know was what the hell the axe actually was.

'Yugi...' Tristan's voice sounded from behind him, 'I... I can explain.'

'Explain what exactly,' he turned to see both Tristan and Kaiba entering the little room. 'What have you been up to? What is this?'

The pair of them exchanged yet another covert look. Yugi gritted his teeth, turned his head away from them and made his way towards the axe.

'Don't touch it,' Kaiba grabbed hold of his arm as he reached a hand towards the weapon, 'it's not ready yet and we can't risk anything tainting its power.'

'Why not? What is this thing exactly?'

'The Elemental Axe,' Tristan's voice was carefully small as he took up a position to Yugi's right.

'The Elemental Axe?' Yugi shook his head as the Face of Friendship quickly fed him some information. 'Are you planning on using it to get your powers back?'

'In our current state there's just no way either of us can use the Axe,' Tristan shook his head. 'Unlike the other Elemental Weapons, the Axe doesn't replace missing powers; it enhances and magnifies existing ones.'

'That's not to say the Axe doesn't have power all of its own,' Kaiba released his grip on Yugi's wrist and folded his arms. 'There are a number of things the Axe can do provided it's in the hands of the right person.'

'And who is the _right_ person exactly?' Yugi cocked an eyebrow at him.

'We told you,' Tristan gave a heavy sigh, 'we're doing all this for Crovell. The weapon's our gift to him.'

'You expect me to believe you would create something like this and then just willingly give it away?' Yugi laughed in disbelief.

'You're right, we're not just doing this for Crovell,' Kaiba's face filled with a serious look.

'We weren't lying when we said Crovell is the future,' Tristan lowered his gaze slightly. 'But our place in this future hasn't been decided yet.'

'You're trying to gain favour with him, aren't you?' Yugi backed away slightly. 'That's what all this is about; you're trying to ensure you have a good position in this new order your envisioning, aren't you?'

'Why not,' Kaiba pulled himself up to his full height. 'What's the point in knowing where things are going if you're not going to at least try and better things for yourself in the process? We're not lying when we say we're doing this for Crovell, but that doesn't mean we're not also doing it for ourselves.'

* * *

'Mai, you're okay,' Catilin clapped her hands together, before launching herself into Mai for a hug. 'We've been so worried about you.'

'I know, I'm sorry,' Mai instinctively stroked her hair, suddenly feeling strangely motherly.

'Who's your friend?' Catilin pulled away from her and stared at Jo.

'That would be my sister,' Crovell folded his arms.

'I see you failed to keep your promise to me,' Jo narrowed her gaze on Crovell for a moment, 'if I'd waited a second longer...'

'I'm sorry, alright?' He turned away from her. 'I guess we were lucky you were keeping an eye on her then.'

'Luck had nothing to do with it C,' she pouted, 'I know you too well, remember? I knew you'd get tied up somehow.'

'I'm guessing from your age, you must be Jo,' Duke took a step towards her. 'Crovell just said you were his sister, but he didn't mention which one.'

'You're right,' Jo's voice was strangely tight, 'I'm Jo.'

'And do you agree with the idea of replacing the First with Crovell?'

'Agree with it?' She laughed. 'I'm the one orchestrating this whole thing. Crovell needs to be in control and if this is the only way we can achieve that goal then it will be done.'

'Where we're from everyone who's still alive agrees with what we're doing,' Crovell's face took on a serious look. 'In fact most of the people who are now dead gave their approval for us to find a way to usurp the First before their deaths.'

'Where we're from its called the Cult of Crovell,' Jo rolled her eyes. 'Which I've always found a little unfair myself since he'll need me to rule at his side. I am the brains of this little operation after all.'

'So you see what we're doing... our plan... it's the right thing to do and the only person who'd ever disagree with that is Mokuba.'

'We were this close to killing that wretched little insect,' Jo held her thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart, 'then he had to go exploit a temporal anomaly and switch bodies with his past self.'

'Sometimes the things that rat does just makes me physically sick,' Crovell shook his head. 'I'd worked hard to try and make sure that monster would never come into being and he goes and ruins it all.'

'We don't know that for sure,' Jo folded her arms. 'If we find a way to switch them back before it's too late it should be okay. I know he hasn't exactly been left with the best of babysitters, but none of them would deliberately try to screw him up.'

Just as he finished talking the baby Crovell appeared out of nowhere into Ahna's arms. For a few seconds there was a shocked and bewildered silence.

'Hello there little one,' Ahna gave a nervous laugh, 'how did you get here?'

'You really were a troublesome child, weren't you Crovell,' Jo smirked.

'No more so than you were Jo,' he shared her amusement.

'Are you telling me my son already knows how to Jump in his sleep?' Ahna flicked her gaze between the two of them.

'Yeah he does,' Crovell grinned cheekily, 'in fact I learnt some of my most impressive techniques in my dreams; so you might wanna watch out for that.'

'You're really, really powerful, aren't you?' Catilin blinked at him.

'Yeah, but that's really not important right now.'

'He's right,' Jo nodded, 'what's important right now is that we all get some rest.'

'Why?' Catilin stared at her.

'Because it's late,' she shrugged, 'and the wolves attack in the morning.'

* * *

The doors to their chamber crashed open to reveal the minuscule, dark haired teenager. His presence caused Set to rise to his feet and, for the first time since they'd put their plan into action, he felt the need to speak.

'Who do you think you are entering the Chamber of the Wen like that?'

'I think I'm Win Mokuba,' the youth met and held his gaze, 'and is that really any way to great the Soul of your father?'

'My father... my true father... is long dead,' Set gritted his teeth. 'You mortalised fragments might be good enough for the Mistresses, but you mean nothing to me.'

'I had forgotten you used to tell yourself that,' the youth laughed.

'What do you want,' Du got to his feet and took a step towards him.

'To offer my services in exchange for your obedience.'

'Impudent wretch,' Sta slammed his fists against his chair as he too got to his feet, 'how dare you make such a suggestion to us?'

'No you're wrong,' he shook his head, 'the real question is how can I not?' A dark laugh juddered out of him. 'See I come from the not too distant future and in my timeline this little... distraction you're running right now fails to hit the mark. Sta might have a great deal of influence over the wolves but he can't really control them.'

'Liar, I'm in complete control over them,' Sta glared at him.

'No brother, you're the liar,' Du shot him a look. 'We all know the wolves aren't being as obedient as you promised us they would be. It doesn't matter how you try to dress it up, the truth remains the same; you have no real control over them.'

'You're siding with this mortalised fragment over me?'

'I'm not taking sides, I'm simply stating the truth,' he folded his arms.

'Children please, stop your bickering,' the youth smirked at them, 'it gets tiresome quickly and trust me you won't like me much when I'm bored.'

'So then leave,' Sta took a step towards him, balling his hands into fists as he did. 'Nobody asked for you to come here.'

'Again I beg to differ,' he waged a finger at him, before pulling something out of his pocket and holding it towards them.

For a second Set found himself frowning in confusion. Then a strange wave of realisation moved through him and he found himself exchanging uncertain glances with his sons.

'You want to use _that_ to take control of the wolves?' Sta's voice was laced with anger.

'I do. Like I said they're a distraction, but it's a distraction we can use to our advantage if we do it correctly.'

'You know _she's_ amongst the wolves, right?'

'Oh don't worry; I won't be using this on her,' the youth met his gaze, 'just on the other wolves.'

'What exactly is your plan?' Set found himself more than mildly curious now.

'One I think you're all going to be extremely interested it,' the youth moved towards them. 'But tell me first, do you still think I'm an impudent mortalised fragment or am I someone you actually want to listen to?'


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

It had been a long time since anyone had said anything. It made Mokuba feel more than a little uncomfortable, especially since he wasn't sure if the silence was out of some kind of respect for those they'd lost or because it was preferable to risking any kind of conversation with him. Still their prolonged silence gave Mokuba a chance to watch how they interacted with each other. They might have been cruel, harsh, cold and violent when it came to their treatment of him, but there was a genuine fondness for each other within their little group.

'You make the air move in a funny way baby monster,' a hushed voice whispered to the right of him.

'Your name's Lilac, right?' Mokuba swallowed hard as he glanced towards the younger of the two sisters.

'Uh-huh,' she nodded.

'Should you be talking to me? I... I don't want you getting into any trouble.'

'Everyone talks like the end is coming, so nothing matters anymore,' she shrugged. 'If I get into trouble, if I don't get into trouble, it makes no difference. I just want to talk to the baby monster. I want to understand how you grew up so wrong.'

'I wish I knew the answer to that,' he lowered his gaze, 'but the truth is I don't understand how things have ended up this way... this world is just so different to the one I've come from.'

'How old are you baby monster,' Lilac tapped a hand under his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze again.

'Fourteen,' he forced a smile, 'how old are you?'

'Eleven.'

'Really?' Mokuba studied her for a moment. 'I thought you were younger somehow.'

'I'm an Active Calicaccu,' she shrugged, 'its how I know you make the air move funny. But that's not why I wanted to talk to you baby monster.'

'I know... you want to understand how I grew up so wrong, right?'

'Mmhmm, but I also want to ask you something.'

'Ask me what?' Mokuba frowned at her.

'It's about Dray Dray baby monster.'

'Who?'

'Dray Dray, he was my friend, I want you to promise you won't kill him this time.'

'I...'

'If Jo and Crovell can make the past different then so can you, right baby monster? When you find your way home, you can make sure you don't kill Dray Dray. It's the only thing I ask of you, please.'

'I don't even know if I'll make it home or not,' Mokuba gave a heavy sigh.

'Time doesn't like you being out of place baby monster,' Lilac's eyes brimmed with tears, 'that's why the air moves funny around you. Time wants you back where you belong, so it will find a way to get you there. I know it will, so I know you can promise me you won't kill Dray Dray. Please.'

'I... uh... okay,' he lowered his gaze again, 'I promise you I won't kill your friend.'

'Thank you,' her voice was little more than a pale whisper.

'I just wish I knew how I grew up into this monster you all hate,' he squeezed his eyes shut. 'I don't want to kill anyone.'

'Hazelnut's right, you are pathetic like this,' Duke's voice startled him.

'I'd rather be pathetic than a murderer,' he swallowed hard as he met Duke's gaze.

'If you think like that you won't survive long here,' Duke rolled his eyes. 'Then again none of us will, the end is coming you know.'

'The walls are crumbling, I can feel it,' Lilac held her hands up and half closed her eyes, 'it's like a funny little trickle.'

'I know it is Lilac hunny,' Duke sighed, 'but why don't you go and get some rest now.'

'Okay uncle Duke,' she nodded before walking away.

'She calls you uncle,' Mokuba pressed his lips together, 'why is that?'

'It's how they see me,' Duke folded his arms. 'I'm not their real uncle, but it doesn't matter, we're family. Maybe not by blood, but what's blood anyway?'

'So you're all close then?'

'Some of us closer than others,' he shrugged, 'but isn't that the same with any family?'

'I...' Mokuba hesitated. 'How... how old was your son when I... when he died?'

'The same age Lilac is now. He was a year older than her.'

'So he would have been twelve now then?'

'What difference does it make how old he'd be now, if he's dead?' Duke's voice toned with anger.

'I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you.'

'Yeah, well you should have thought of that before you…' he paused and shook his head. 'You know what it's not worth it.'

'I... I'm sorry... I'm just... trying to understand,' Mokuba sucked a strangely painful breath in. 'Why... why did I kill your son?'

'Because you wanted to punish me.'

'For what?

'For my unwavering loyalty to Crovell,' Duke's eyes were filled with the same level of disgust as his voice.

'And... and did it? Punish you I mean?'

'What kind of a question is that,' Duke pressed his arm against Mokuba's throat. 'You killed _my_ son and you want to know if it punished me? I thought you were supposed to be the baby not the monster.'

'I... I'm sorry,' his voice squeaked, 'I... I'm just trying to understand.'

'Understand what exactly?'

'How... how I became a monster.'

'You were a monster long before you killed my son,' Duke shook his head. 'You're not going to understand anything by sticking pins into old wounds.'

'I... I'm sorry.'

'Sorry doesn't cut it Mokuba.'

'But I... I don't know what else to say.'

'There's nothing you can say,' he pulled away from him. 'You're a wretched creature and I hate you, you'd be good to remember that.'

'Right now I don't think it would be possible for me to forget,' Mokuba swallowed hard. 'But I... I want to know something.'

'What is it now?' Duke glared at him.

'Your son's name,' he pressed his lips together, 'I... I want to know his name.'

'His name was Drake,' Duke's jaw line hardened as he lowered his gaze. 'My son's name was Drake.'

* * *

They'd talked for what had felt like hours and Yugi still wasn't sure what to make of the situation. Now that he'd found the weapon they'd been concealing he had no doubt that they were telling him the truth. But it was the truth itself he was having a hard time believing. He knew Kaiba almost as well as the Face of Friendship knew the Pure. The idea that either of them would willingly become subservient to anyone else was just ridicules, but as the same time...

'Do you think there's more to their story,' the image of the Pharaoh appeared beside him, 'something else they're not telling you?'

'I'm not sure,' Yugi shook his head as he stared round the room Kaiba had given him for the night. 'I've just... got this feeling about the whole situation. There's something... I don't know; I want to say odd about it, but... I've never felt anything like the power coming off that weapon before.'

'Do you think it might be dangerous?'

Yugi went to say something, then hesitated. The reply which had been on the tip of his tongue mentally didn't chime right with him; so why did he feel the need to say it?

'Yugi are you okay?' The Pharaoh frowned at him in concern.

'I was just thinking about what they were saying about Mokuba,' he lied. 'They're pretty convinced he's being controlled by something and from the sounds of his behaviour I agree, but... the idea that something could be Mokuba's own future self doesn't exactly sit right with me.'

'Because they're suggesting Mokuba is capable of evil?'

'Which probably means all the Win parts are,' Yugi pressed his lips together. 'I mean, we've already seen Catilin under the influence of the Reganna, so it's not a huge stretch to think they're all susceptible.'

'I could see how that would pose a problem,' the Pharaoh folded his arms. 'The Wins are connected to the Mistresses, right? Now all the parts are active they could affect each other and the Mistresses too and who knows what kind of problems that would cause.'

'I never thought about it like that,' Yugi pulled a face, 'but you're right, of course. One Win part could affect the rest of them and then...' he felt his own jaw line harden. 'We need to take that weapon away from them.'

'What?' The Pharaoh frowned.

'We need to take the Elemental Axe away from them as soon as possible,' he flicked his gaze up to meet with the Pharaoh's. 'I don't care if they're able to use it or not, a weapon that powerful shouldn't be around either of them. Not when the two of them have so much influence over the nature of the Wins and the Mistresses.'

'You think they're the ones who'll turn first?'

'That's if they haven't been turned already,' Yugi shook his head. 'I mean, how else do you explain this Crovell explanation of theirs?'

'So now you're saying you don't believe their story?'

'I'm saying if they've turned it would be very easy for both of them to fool me,' he gritted his teeth. 'And what better way to cover up a deception than with a story so unbelievable it could be true, right? They think they're so clever, but they're not.'

'But what about Mokuba?' The Pharaoh frowned. 'Do you think they're lying about him too?'

'Possibly. He probably found out what they were up to and threatened to tell the First or something. What better way to discredit what he's saying then to make out something's possessing him.'

'Do you really think that's what's going on here?'

'I...' Yugi hesitated, his resolve suddenly wavering, 'I don't know,' he turned his head away. 'Maybe I'm just tired. It's been a long day.'

'It has,' the Pharaoh nodded, 'you should get some sleep.'

* * *

'Do you really think he'll try anything tonight?' Duke studied Catilin as the two of them stood guard outside of Ahna's door.

'He was evil,' Catilin lowered her gaze. 'The vibrations coming off of him were scary and the longer he was around the more certain I became that he was capable of anything. I don't want him to attack tonight, but I don't think we shouldn't think he would.'

'I can't imagine what kind of world they must come from,' Duke shook his head. 'I've been trying to, but I just can't.'

Catilin lifted her gaze to meet with his. There was something small and frightened about her expression which made her look even more like a vulnerable little girl than she already did. Duke felt protective feelings stir inside himself and hesitantly he reached out and placed his hands on her shoulders.

'Are you... are you alright?'

'They come from hell, I know they do. I can feel it and... and I think I've seen it too?'

'What do you mean?' Duke frowned. 'Catilin?'

'I saw the wolf,' her voice was little more than a sorrowful whisper, 'he howled and howled at his mistress, though she were the moon. He deafened me; I could scarcely breathe, as I drowned amid the voices. I saw the wolf. He was my brother.'

'The storm comes,' Duke automatically picked up, 'I do not beacon to it, it beacons to me. The rain of night beats, encasing the soul. The thunder booms, tainting the mind. The lighting streaks, striking the heart. And the wind howls, battering the body. The storm calls. I am lost.'

'How...?' Catilin stared at him.

'Ever heard of a book called The Wolf's Ghost?' He gave a nervous half laugh.

'The Lutoni's Fables,' Catilin nodded.

'That's the one,' a slim smile pulled onto his face. 'Well there's a story near the back called The Blue Wolf of Chaos. It's one of Crovell's favourites.'

'Does Ahna know you're reading those stories to Crovell? Does hiet braysta?'

'And through the chaos, I heard them call to me,' Duke's face filled with a wry smile as he ignored her question. '_Do not fear the wolf who howls, for he is our brother too_. _Follow the path he leads you down and you shall be safe. But stray from his side and you will find nothing but death and destruction._ _Courage dear sister, let him lead you home._' He hesitated for a moment, before giving an embarrassed laugh. 'There's more, but that's all I can ever remember.'

'You memorise them?' Catilin stared at him in wonder.

'No,' he shook his head, 'but when you read something enough times, some of it kind of sticks with you.'

'I can understand that,' Catilin placed a hand on his cheek. 'But...'

'What?' Duke met her gaze as he wondered whether or not he was getting a little too close to her.

'The legend, it's… it's told by a child, isn't it?'

'I believe so, why?'

Catilin didn't reply. Instead her eyes glazed over with a distant look.

'Are you... are you okay?'

Again she didn't reply.

'Catilin...?'

'I saw the wolf,' she whispered softly, 'he was my brother.'


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

The last thing she could clearly remember was talking to Duke, then everything had become hazy and her vision had filled with a powerful bright light. The sounds of children laughing then filled her ears, as it did she realised she was lying on the ground staring up at the sky and the brightness in her vision was simply the sun overhead. A shadow fell over her, quickly followed by the face of a young boy with bright eyes and dark hair.

'Now's not the time to be daydreaming Ly,' the boy reached a hand down towards her. 'Come on, Crovell and the others are waiting, we've gotta go.'

The second he called her Ly, she knew she was experiencing a vision of some kind. There was no point in questioning a vision whilst it was happening, so she reached her hand up towards him and allowed him to pull her to his feet. The second she was on them he began pulling her forward.

'Where are we going?' Her voice sounded young, but contained a lot of her own familiar tones.

'Out into the chaos, remember?' The boy's face was filled with excitement. 'Crovell said he'd take us to Kama Traydon today; that means leaving the garden and going out into the chaos.'

'But... isn't that dangerous.'

Her words caused him to come to a stop. His face filled with a serious expression as he met her gaze.

'It's what you wanted Ly, remember? You were the one who was talking about it.'

'I... I don't remember...' she shook her head, the words coming out almost automatically.

'Maybe... maybe you were just having a vision then,' he lowered his gaze. 'But we can't not go now; the others are waiting for us and... even if it is dangerous... we have the Blue Wolf of Chaos on our side. So, don't worry okay?' A slim smile pulled across his face.

'Okay,' she nodded.

They started moving forward again and within a few minutes they were at the gate which led from the Southern Palace out into the city. Waiting for them at the gate were three children. Two she recognised as being younger versions of Jo and Crovell, but the third was a pretty little brunette, who reminded her of a younger version of Ahna somehow.

'Is she okay?' The pretty brunette took a step towards them. 'She's looking a little pale; she's not having another one of her episodes, is she?'

'Uh-huh,' the boy she was with shook his head, 'I don't think so. But she did have _that_ book with her again.'

'She's always reading _that_ book,' Jo rolled her eyes. 'I sometimes wonder if she thinks she's more of a Lutoni than we are.'

'It's not like that,' Crovell laughed, 'she just likes reading about me, don't you Ly?'

'Big head,' Jo folded her arms, 'I'm in that book too, you know. How do you know it's not me she likes reading about?'

'Because the Golden Wolf of Order is nothing more than a footnote.'

'I'll give you footnote.'

Her eyes sparked yellow for an instant and she spun around to hit him, but he caught her arm.

'You know you're really pretty when you're angry,' Crovell smirked at her.

For a second their eyes locked, then Jo roughly snatched her arm away.

'Why do you always have to be so childish?'

'I'm just having a little fun with you Jo,' he shrugged. 'And as the leader of our little band of rebels, I'd say I was entitled to a little fun, wouldn't you?'

'You know we're going to be in a lot of trouble if _they_ find out we've left the safety of the garden,' Jo appeared to deliberately change the subject.

'Last I checked rebels didn't care about trouble,' he laughed again. 'Besides they're _my_ minions, so I don't think they have any right to question what I do.'

'How you manage to maintain such loyalty from them I'll never know,' she rolled her eyes.

'It's because they know the same truth we do Jo,' he turned his gaze towards the horizon, 'they know I'm the future.'

The skyline above them started to darken. Within what felt like a very short heartbeat the blue sky disappeared to be replaced by ominous black rainclouds. A strong wind whipped its way around the group and a stinging level of tension pulled around them.

'Are you sure we should do this brother?' The pretty brunette's voice was soft but firm.

'I'm the Wolf of Chaos remember,' Crovell pulled himself up to his full height, 'I'll keep us safe.'

A streak of lightning tore across the sky and as it did the world around her changed. She now found herself stood in the ruins of a building; the same building from her previous vision. Nearby a puddle of water rippled as drops of rain dripped into it. In it she could just about make out the reflection of a young girl, but before she had time to study it further the sound of howling caught her attention.

Her eyes turned towards the howling. It was coming from the burning garden she could see just beyond the ruined wall in front of her. In the garden stood a powerful looking blue wolf and beyond him she could make out a heavily cloaked figure. The figure exuberated evil on a level she was sure no mortal was capable of.

'Drake, I want you to take Lilac and Hazelnut back with you now,' Jo's voice sounded from behind her, 'it's not safe for any of you here.'

'But what about you?' The voice belonged to the dark haired boy from before.

'I'm immortal remember, I'll be fine. Just get my sisters out of here.'

She again felt a strong grip on her wrist as someone started pulling her away. As she turned towards them the world around her changed again and she found herself stood behind a thick curtain. The dark haired boy was next to her, his hand still gripped around her wrist. There was a tense look on his face, but before she could ask him what was wrong the sound of nearby voices caught her attention.

'I told you to leave here Mokuba, there is nothing you can offer me which will ever get me to betray him.'

'You really think that brat is your salvation?'

'I don't think, I know, we all do.'

'You're all fools, the whole lot of you. Worse still you're traitors to the First.'

'As if you can really talk; we all know you're not here on her behalf, you selfish, arrogant bastard.'

'Watch your tongue, don't you know you're in the presence of a god.'

'You're no god Mokuba.'

'Really, do you care to test that little theory of yours?'

'Go to hell Mokuba.'

'I've already been,' he laughed, 'it was a most profitable experience.'

'Don't tell me you've managed to get him onto your side now too.'

Mokuba laughed again, but made no reply.

'Get out of my house you wretched little demon, you're not welcome here.'

'Did you just call me a demon?'

'Anyone who thinks they can profit from working with _him_ has to be some kind of demon. Have you not seen what he's been doing to the multiverse?'

'And there you go again, looking for yet another person to blame for everything. Another person who isn't Crovell that is.'

'There you go again trying to lay the blame on him.'

'His birth caused all this.'

'No, this was caused by the First doing nothing to stop it. Nothing except stand in Crovell's way that is. But I wouldn't expect a wretched little demon like you to understand that.'

'There really isn't anything in the world I can do to break your bond with Crovell is there,' suddenly an arm reached in through the curtain and pulled Drake out of his hiding spot, breaking his grip on her arm as it did. 'He's even more precious to you than your own son, isn't he?'

'What do you think you're doing Mokuba? Let go of him.'

'I'm trying to prove a point here and trust me when I say I have no qualms about killing him.'

'You sick bastard, let him go.'

'Only if you pledge your allegiance to me.'

'Never.'

'You mean you'd rather watch your own son die than betray Crovell. How easily you prove my point.'

'If you do this Mokuba all you'll really prove is that you're nothing more than a demon now.'

'I'm not a demon, I'm a god and one day you will all kneel before me.'

'You will never be a god you wretched demon, now let my son go.'

'Oh Duke, insults really get you nowhere.'

'They're not insults if they're true you monster.'

'Fine, you want a monster, you've got one. Say goodbye to your son.'

'No!'

With his screams still filling her ears, she suddenly found herself knelt at a graveside.

'Come on Ly,' she felt someone place a hand on her shoulder, 'it's not safe to be out here, we should get home.'

She didn't move, instead she studied the engraving on the tombstone. Her eyes read over it again and again, each time filling her heart with more and more grief. The pain inside her was unbearable. Her hand shook as she reached out towards it and began to trace the letters with her fingers. The words didn't change and the unbearable sense of loss deepened.

Tear rolled slowly down her cheeks. It was unbearably painful and every second which passed just made it worse. Overcome, she buried her face in her hands and began to sob. She knew in her heart this was a vision of the future, just like the one she'd had before had been. The girl whose body she inhabited had to be a Calicaccu and a strangely skilled one for her age at that. After all, this girl had been able to reach back through time in order to show her this.

Looking up again and with her eyes blurred with tears, she stared at the still unchanged letters.

'Ly please,' the person behind her begged, 'it's not safe here, we should go.'

'Dray Dray,' the whisper pushed its way past her lips, 'I just want my Dray Dray back.'


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

She pulled the blanket she'd managed to acquire tighter round her and stared up at the twinkling night sky. It was hard to believe she was really here and, as it wasn't something they'd originally intended, she couldn't help but wonder just how detrimental her presence would be. Still, there was something soothing about being under a starry sky which caused her to start humming just a little bit as songs she'd learnt in her early childhood, when the world still resembled this one, slowly came back to her.

'Gods of the Sky, the Night, the Day, Gods of the Earth come out to play. Gods of the Sea, of Love and of Death, Gods of Lightning I love the best. Make the stars come out at night, make the days feel warm and bright. Give me life and love and care, and in my heart I'll hold you there...'

'An Ode to the Gods Jo?' Crovell's voice made her start. 'I didn't think you sung those anymore.'

'I don't... I mean I don't normally,' she squirmed a little as she glanced towards him, 'but there was just something about the night air... I couldn't resist.'

'It's not as though the Odes are even accurate anymore,' Crovell sat down on the step beside her.

'Maybe not in our time, but the Fay still have power here.'

'It makes me so angry every time I think about how the Wen treated the Fay. Just tossing them aside like that in favour of Mokuba.'

'You're only angry because the Fay supported you,' Jo lowered her gaze. 'They understood how and why things needed to change, but all the Wen saw was a loss of control and power on their part. So when Mokuba came along and promised them everything they'd ever wanted it wasn't hard for them to turn their backs on the Fay and the Mistresses.'

'Even the First,' Crovell made a noise of disgust, 'Mokuba may never have outright said it, but his intentions were to make her his subordinate too. He needed her to justify his own destructive madness. After all, if the First approved or at least didn't stop you, what you were doing couldn't be all that wrong.'

'Like I should pity _her_,' Jo clenched her teeth. 'She made her own bed the first time she chose to ignore what he was up to. If she didn't want to lie in it with him she should have acted, instead of allowing him to turn her into his bitch.'

'You're right, they are as bad as each other, but we have a chance to change them both,' Crovell gave a slight laugh. 'Have you figured out a way of bringing their Mokuba back yet?'

'Of course, what do you take me for?' Jo smirked. 'I'd figured it out almost right away, but... in order for _our_ Mokuba not to be a problem...'

'I'm going to have to take him down,' Crovell lowered his head slightly, 'I figured that would be the case. Just make sure you're ready when I do, okay? We can't afford any mistakes on this one. If we want a better future for everybody then...'

'The monster has to remain a baby.'

'You sound like Lilac when you talk like that.'

'I know,' she sighed.

'You did remember to tell Ly to...'

'Of course.'

'Good,' he pulled himself to his feet, before dropping something into her lap. 'Here, I want you to have this.'

Her eyes turned down towards the object. It was her knife; the one Crovell had won off of her.

'Crovell...?

'I won it fair and square, which means its mine to do with as I please, right?'

'But…?'

'Don't question it Jo,' the look in his eyes were soft and loving, 'we can't get to be ourselves here, so this is the next best thing.'

'What...?'

'Touch the knife and you'll see what I mean. Goodnight.'

With that he turned and walked away. The second he'd left Jo picked up the knife from her lap and as she did she was filled with a strong sense of emotions. Emotions which made her feel more valued and cared about than she'd ever felt before. Her heart swelled with a strange kind of forbidden pride.

'Oh Crovell,' she pressed the knife against her chest, 'I love you too.'

* * *

Duke was starting to panic now. When Catilin's eyes had first glazed over he hadn't known what to think. He knew from Joey she had _episodes _of sorts, but he'd never actually witnessed one first hand before. This was all new territory for him and the longer it went on the more he wished someone would tell him what he was supposed to do.

His mind was divided. He wanted to knock on the door behind him and ask Ahna to help, but at the same time he didn't want to risk waking Crovell by causing too much of a commotion. After all the infant still wasn't sleeping through the whole night yet, so why make things any harder on his mother? But at the same time...

'The wolf was her brother...' Catilin's voice was so soft, Duke wasn't even sure she'd spoken at first.

'Catilin,' he turned back to her, 'Catilin are you okay?'

'I... I saw the hell they come from,' her head moved slowly from side to side. 'There were five of them, all so close. Close like siblings, only not all of them were.'

'I... I don't understand,' he swallowed hard, 'Crovell only mentioned three sisters.'

'There were five, three girls, two boys. All happy and close. Even in the world they were living in they were happy and close and together. There were five of them.'

'There... there were five, but... there isn't five anymore,' Duke carefully gripped onto her arms, wishing she would start to make more sense.

'The little boy died,' her head tilted to one side as a pained expression appeared on her face. 'The little boy died to prove a point. A bad point. A very bad point. He shouldn't have died. Why did he have to die? Why?' Her tear filled eyes met with his.

'I... I don't know,' he shook his head, 'I didn't see what you saw; I don't quite understand what's going on.'

'He died Duke, he was murdered. The little boy was murdered. Murdered right in front of his Daddy to prove a point. Wicked, wicked monster killed a baby. Killed a baby to prove a point. Killed my baby.'

'What?'

'The monster killed the little boy. The little boy was an Ashmar. I'm an Ashmar. He was my little boy. My little boy the monster killed to prove a point to hurt his Daddy. Wicked, wicked monster.'

'Catilin... I... I don't understand...'

Without warning the door next to them opened and Ahna poked her head out.

'If she was having an episode you should have told me,' her eyes met with Duke's for a moment.

'I... I'm sorry,' Duke shook his head. 'Is she... will she be alright?'

'She will be once I get her settled,' Ahna placed a hand on Catilin's shoulder and coaxed her into the room. 'Will you be alright on your own out here or do you want me to call Covo for you?'

'I'll be alright.'

'Are you sure? I wouldn't want you getting bored or lonely or... anything.'

'I'm doing this by choice, remember?' A weak smile pulled at his lips. 'I'll be fine, besides after the day we've had a little time to process it all would be nice.'

'Okay, if you're sure.' She nodded and together they led the still sobbing Catilin into the room.

'I am,' he half turned his gaze away and hesitated for a moment. 'She... she will be alright, won't she? I mean, I know you said she'll be okay, but... I'm worried about her.'

'You've never seen her like this before, have you?'

'No.'

'Don't worry; she really will be fine once she's settled.'

'Okay...'

'You care about her, don't you?'

'I...' Duke felt stunned for a moment, then a hot flush spread across his face as he remembered the kiss, 'maybe... I'm not sure, but... I do know I want to find out.'

'Just don't hurt her in the process, okay Duke? I may not be evil anymore, but I swear to you, if you ever cause her any heart ache...'

'I get the message,' he laughed nervously, 'and... I promise.'

* * *

'So you're the one claiming to be Win Mokuba,' Ni strode into the Chamber of the Wen, his eyes fixed on the dark haired kid, 'somehow I thought you'd be a little more impressive looking.'

'Well you sure don't change,' the kid took several steps towards him, 'you had that same condescending attitude the first time we met in my timeline too.'

'You're timeline,' Ni cocked an eyebrow.

'Didn't whatever spy of yours brought you here tell you I'm from the future?'

'Last I checked time travel wasn't one of my grandfather's abilities.'

'That may be true, but even you must be aware of the Realm referred to as the relative future reality.'

'What of it?'

'In the world I'm from the temporal anomalies and paradoxes are no longer contained to that Realm. They spilled out over the rest of the multiverse as the boundaries between realities fell. That brat Crovell and his nuisance of a sister figured out how to use the anomalies to get back to an exact point in time. But for me just getting back here wasn't good enough, I wanted my youth back as well,' the kid speared his hands out as his studied them for a moment. 'And I must say, the anomaly I utilised to do it was so much better than I imagined it would be.'

'The quest for youth is such a mortal past time,' Ni rolled his eyes.

'Perhaps it is, but I am no ordinary mortal as you will quickly discover.'

'Is that why you're asking us Wen to kneel before you,' a cruel smirk twisted at his lips.

'I did wonder if that was what brought you here,' the kid's face filled with a shark-like grin. 'In the world I come from every single one of you has pledge your loyalty to me, because I'm the only one capable of offering you all what you truly desire. Sixteen years into the past and things aren't any different; I'm still the only one who can give you what you want.'

'And just what is it you think we want?'

'The death of Crovell and the true abdication of the Mistresses,' the kid's voice was level and serious.

'You honestly think you can get us both?'

'In my world I have the First under my thumb, the Face of Friendship beaten into submission and the Pure in a position where she's completely powerless to stop me. The only thing I can't do there which I can do here is kill that infantile bastard. Now, I have your family convinced, but do I have you?'


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Her body felt heavy and awkward as a slow sense of reality set back in. The feel of the hard floor beneath her and the weight of something tugging around her neck were the first two real sensations to return. Instinctively her arm moved towards the object around her neck, tugging it hard enough to break it off before tossing the object to one side. Actual conscious thoughts didn't set in for another couple of minutes, when they did her eyes fluttered open to be greeted by a dimly lit view of a ceiling above her.

'I need to get up,' her mouth felt dry and clangy, 'I need to... but... what happened... I...'

Her mind became a jumble of incohesive thoughts. One by one these thoughts began to glue themselves together like a giant puzzle, creating a picture in her mind she really wasn't sure she wanted revealed.

'I died,' she found herself rubbing her hands across her face in the same way she might if she was just waking up from a long nights sleep. 'I died,' she repeated the words trying to give them some kind of meaning, but her mind just couldn't focus on them enough to truly gage what it was. 'I died.'

'Yes, you did,' an unfamiliar female voice sounded to the right of her. 'It's just fortunate for you that now is not your day to die.'

'Who...?' She sat up, only to have her head swarm with a million colours and patterns in the process.

'Those who run before they can walk only find themselves in trouble sooner,' an elegant young woman, with golden ringlets and bright blue eyes knelt down in front of her.

'My... my grandmother used to say things like that,' she lowered her gaze for a moment.

'Your grandmother was a wise woman Nayta,' the blue-eyed woman placed a hand under Nayta's chin, 'she said many a wise thing you'd do well to remember.'

'What do you mean?'

'Today was never meant to be the day you moved from my care into the care of my sister,' the woman met Nayta's gaze. 'The date of a person's death may not be fixed in stone, but for a life to stray so far from its end date... it was like fate handed you to us. But fate is the mistress which governs us all and it is hard to say exactly what she has in store for you.'

'I... I'm not sure I understand,' Nayta shook her head.

'I'm not sure any of us truly understand fate, even when it's so carefully leading us forward,' the woman pulled herself to her feet and offered a hand down towards Nayta. 'It was my fate to marry Fray and live a life more... fortunate than my sister's. It's why I do not fear my husband finding out that I have helped the child, because even if the Fay have their reservations about him, they know he is destined and will do everything in their power to help him.'

'Are you asking me if I will do the same?' Nayta studied her for a moment.

'I do not believe I asked a question,' she smirked slightly. 'But yes, I would like to know if you will help the child after everything my sister and I have risked for you.'

'I have every intention of helping the child, if he's really as important as everyone says he is,' Nayta pulled herself to her full height. 'Who knows, helping Crovell may well be what fate had in store for me all along.'

The woman went to say something, then hesitated and a weak smile pulled at her lips.

'Who knows,' she averted her gaze.

'Is... is something wrong Liekta Arrena?' Nayta frowned at her.

'No,' a more natural smile fell across her face as she shook her head, 'no, you are right, this may well be what fate has in store for you. I just wouldn't want you to feel as though you were underselling yourself.'

'How could I?'

'Because with a child's eyes you have not yet seen the world.'

'What...?' Before Nayta could finish her question the woman had disappeared.

Nayta gave a heavy sigh and turned her gaze towards the light of dawn just starting to come through the window. Everything she'd read about the Lady of Life told her the encounter she'd had with her hadn't been too far out of the ordinary; but that didn't shake the feeling in Nayta's stomach telling her there was something troubling the Higher Being beyond the fate of Crovell. It was a hard feeling to shake, but as the beams of sunlight fell across her skin, filling her with a greater appreciation for life than she'd ever had before, she knew it was something she couldn't allow herself to dwell on. After all, she had a message to deliver and a child to save.

* * *

Mokuba had a hard enough time sleeping sitting up anyway, so when you added being tied to the chair on top of that it was unsurprising just how little sleep he managed to get. With his head feeling sick and heavy and the early morning light of a new dawn filtering in through the window, Mokuba's gaze vacantly studied the others. From what he could tell they were all still asleep. Although how they could sleep so soundly on a stone floor with little more than raggedy old blankets and the dying embers of a fire for warmth he would never know.

With his brain in too much of a stupor to really notice the passage of time, he wasn't sure how long he'd been sat there watching them for before one of the skeletal bodies started to rouse. The movement drew Mokuba's attention towards him and he watched in a kind of numb silence as he pulled himself up from the floor.

'Tristan...'

The figure shot a look in his direction, his facial features pulled into a hard and unreadable expression. There were several long beats of silence as Tristan took a tatty looking ball out of his pocket and began throwing it up into the air and catching it.

'Something's don't change, huh?' A small smile pulled at Mokuba's lips.

Tristan stopped throwing the ball for a moment to shoot Mokuba another unreadable look. Then he turned away and returned to his stress relieving exercise.

'I'm starting to think I preferred it when you guys were being unnecessarily violent towards me, at least then you actually said something.'

'Is there some kind of point to you trying to lure me into conversation?' Tristan's voice was flat and toneless. 'Only some of us like a little peace and quiet first thing in the morning.'

'I'm sorry,' Mokuba lowered his gaze, 'I'm just...'

'You're just a lot of things,' Tristan began bouncing the ball off of the wall closest to him, 'and right now I don't know which of those things is bothering me the most.'

There were a few long beats of silence, broken only by the gentle slapping noise of the ball against the stone wall. Mokuba found himself studying Tristan for a few moments. The outfit he was wearing was badly fitting, but considering the extreme wiriness of his frame it was impossible to imagine either him or Kaiba looking good no matter what they tried to wear. The outfit itself was tatty and looked vaguely reminiscent of the one Tristan had worn during Duellist Kingdom, although it was almost impossible to tell for sure.

'Is the ball the same one my brother got you?' Mokuba's mouth felt strangely dry.

'Does it matter?'

'I... I guess not, I just... well I... I was just wondering what things are like between the two of you now. I mean... do you still do little things just to annoy him?'

'You're asking me if my level of maturity hasn't changed since I was a teenager?' Tristan glared at him.

'I... uh... I didn't mean it like that. I was... I was just trying to make conversation. It's not like there's a whole lot else I can do right now.'

'If that was some kind of hint to untie you...'

'No... it wasn't... I get it; you guys don't like the person I become so you have no reason to trust me. I get you need to feel like I'm not going to be a threat to you, so I'm not going to ask for something I know you don't feel comfortable with.'

'How noble and mature of you,' the distaste in Tristan's voice was more than obvious.

'You really hate the person I become, don't you?' Mokuba sighed.

'No Mokuba, this isn't about the monster you become, this is about you.'

'I... I don't understand...'

'Of course _you _don't. As bright as you were you always lacked the ability to see the bigger picture.'

'I... uh...'

'I can't stand the fact you're innocent again.'

'What?' Mokuba almost choked out the word.

'I can't stand the fact you're innocent again,' Tristan stormed his way towards him, leaning on the chair in a way which made it tilt back dangerously whilst forcing Mokuba to meet his gaze. 'I know I should accept it. I know I should look at the advantage it gives me; an advantage I never thought I would have. I know I should feel relieved to know the monster really could be put back into the box. But every time I look at you all I can see is the pain you've caused Seto through the years.'

'I...'

'Okay, so we were idiots back then, Seto especially. We allowed ourselves to be controlled because it was easier to do that than deal with what was really going on. We made our far share of mistakes and believe me we were punished for it. But what did we do to deserve you being innocent again?'

'You... you say it like it's a bad thing...'

'I do, don't I?' Tristan gave a mildly hysterical laugh. 'But that's because it is. Don't you get it, despite everything Seto never really learnt to hate you. You were always his little brother and to see the way you were turning out just caused him nothing but pain and guilt. And then when he knew he would have to be the one to stop you... to kill you... he had to learn how to hate you, but I know... I know he never really did. And then you... You'll never know just how much pain you've caused him by reminding him that once upon a time his little brother loved him too.'

'Oh my god you're in love with him,' the words were out of Mokuba's mouth before he could stop them.

Tristan said nothing. Instead he roughly let Mokuba's chair drop back down onto all fours and pulled himself away from him. There was a long and heavy silence, during which Tristan began tossing the ball again.

'Tristan does he…?' Mokuba hesitated. 'Does he love you too?'

'The others will be up soon,' Tristan squeezed the ball in his hand for a moment, before tossing it hard against the nearby wall.

'You didn't answer my question.'

'That's because it's not worth answering.'

'But I...'

'If one more god damn question comes out of your mouth Mokuba, I swear you won't even get the chance to regret it.'

'I...'

'Tristan why don't you do something useful for a change and go get us some food,' Duke groaned as he got to his feet, cutting off any chance Mokuba had of continuing a conversation with Tristan. 'It's far too early in the morning for you to be carrying on like the prehistoric caveman you are.'

'Oh I'm sorry,' Tristan shot him a look, 'I didn't realise incomplete people needed their beauty sleep.'

'They need it more than skeleton,' Duke returned his look with one of his own.

'Whatever,' Tristan shrugged and turned away from him, 'so do you have any particular requests for your last meal?'

'As if there's really a whole lot of choice left. Just go, would you?'

'Alright, alright, no need to be such a bitch about it,' Tristan made his way out of the room.

'Yeah, like he can really call me the bitch,' Duke muttered as he shook his head. 'And as for you,' he turned on Mokuba, 'you really need to stop asking questions, all you're really doing is pissing people off.'

'I...' Mokuba shook his head, 'but... but you're world is so different, I'm just... trying to understand how it ended up like this.'

'Yeah, well what's the point? If Crovell succeeds in his plan things won't end up this way.'

'Yes but... but if he doesn't maybe... maybe I can help change things. But... I... I can't do that if I don't know how things went wrong.'

'I wouldn't trust you to fix a peg on a clothesline,' Duke gave him a disgusted look, 'what makes you think I'd trust you with anything more important than that?'

* * *

'We're like sisters, aren't we Ahna?' Catilin's voice was as soft and gentle as the early morning sunlight creeping in through the window.

'Of course,' Ahna gently stroked her hair.

'So your little girls will be like family to me too, won't they?'

'I hope so, but I really don't want to think about them right now.'

'Why not?'

'Because they don't exist yet,' she gave a nervous laugh. 'I prefer to focus on the present, you know that.'

'Mm,' she sounded unsure.

'Catilin...'

Before she could say anything else Crovell began to stir. Ahna gave a heavy sigh and pulled herself out of bed. Behind her, Catilin pulled the blanket around herself and moved into a sitting position.

'Duke's really good with him you know,' Catilin hunched forward. 'I think he's gonna make a good daddy one day, don't you?'

'Hmm...'

'You don't think so?'

'No… that's not it,' she shot Catilin a weak smile, 'I guess I'm just a little jealous, that's all. Isn't that awful?'

'A little,' Catilin shuffled off of the bed, 'but maybe that's not a bad thing.'

'How do you mean?'

'You want to be Crovell's world cuz you're his Mummy, but Crovell needs a bigger world. All children do.'

'You're right. I know you're right. But...'

'You're still a new Mummy,' Catilin pulled herself out of bed and shuffled towards them, 'you're allowed to be jealous. I wonder if I'll be the same.'

'Are you thinking about that vision you had?' Ahna studied her for a moment.

'Mm. They weren't exaggerating when they said they came from hell,' her voice was strangely sombre, 'or when they called Mokuba a monster. That place... everything about it just felt like it was clinging to me somehow. I... I don't know how to explain it, but the longer I remember what it was like the more certain I am that they're right. Crovell is the future and the First needs to be deposed.'

'What?' Ahna blinked, not totally sure she'd heard right.

'I said I think they're right Ahna,' her voice was deadly serious, 'the First needs to be deposed and Crovell needs to take her place.'

'I can't believe you just said that. You're an Ashmar... a Win part...'

'I know,' Catilin remained calm, 'but that doesn't mean they're not right.'

'Catilin...'

'I know Crovell's just a baby right now, but he'll grow big and sooner than you think,' Catilin tilted her head to one side, 'and when he gets big he's going to take over from the First. Tristan and Kaiba know it and now so do we.'

'Yes, but...'

'So we need to help them, don't we?'

'Help them?'

'Tristan and Kaiba, they know how to get Crovell in charge, so we should help them, right?'

'Catilin... please... think about what you're saying.'

'I am,' she pouted, 'I'm thinking very hard about what I'm saying and I know I'm right. That's why they wanted me to see what I saw. That's why they wanted me to know how to fix the future. You do believe me, right?'

'I... I believe you, but... this is the First we're talking about here Cat. No, this is deposing the First we're talking about here Cat. This is serious.'

'I know.'

'Do you? Do you really? I mean, no offence, but you're not exactly... there most of the time. You don't exactly follow the same rules of logic the rest of us do and...'

'Don't say that Ahna. Not about this. Please,' Catilin's eyes became large and pleading. 'Please, trust me. I need you to trust me.'

'Cat...'

'Ahna.'

For a few long, tense moments there was silence.

'Ahna please,' Catilin's lower lip trembled, 'I know this isn't what I'm meant to think and I know I'm asking you to do something scary, but trust me; I know it's the right thing to do.'

'I know you want to believe that Catilin, but...'

'No. No there is no but. There is no... no nothing, not this time Ahna, please. I need your help and so does your son. He has an important future and we have to make sure he gets there.'


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

'You know they're expecting us inside, right?' Jo folded her arms as she positioned herself beside him.

'I know,' Crovell's gaze remained focused on the gate which led out of the garden and into the city beyond. 'They'll be here soon, I can almost smell them coming.'

'So can I,' she tilted her head back slightly and half closed her eyes, 'it's kinda exciting, isn't it?'

Instantly Crovell glared at her. A part of her felt pleased her comment got to him so much; after all it was the closest thing she'd get to payback over the Mai incident.

'Oh you know what I mean,' she smirked as she followed her gaze. 'For the first time in living memory we're going to see our father's face. Compared to this, photos just aren't the same.'

'Uh... I hadn't even thought about that,' his gaze slid towards her.

'How could you not, it's all I've been thinking about since I came back to join you. This doesn't make up for what I'm sacrificing,' she pressed a hand against her stomach, 'but it does give me hope for a brighter future.'

'Jo...'

'You have that on already,' she cut him off as she nodded towards the Battle City issue dueldisk on his arm.

'Like you can talk,' he rolled his eyes and indicated towards the one she was wearing.

'Do you remember how our mums taught us to use these things?' Jo lifted her arm to examine the device.

'I remember them banning us from them as a form of punishment, a lot,' Crovell laughed.

'Yeah and I remember that always being your fault too.'

'Hey I was a kid.'

'So was I,' she playfully narrowed her gaze on him, 'you were just in love with chaos.'

'I still am,' Crovell grinned and shook his head. 'So do you really think this plan will work?'

'I don't see why it won't,' she shrugged, 'I mean it worked for us during the uprising, didn't it?'

'But during the uprising we got to actualise the monsters.'

'Only when we were dealing with the Game Master or _its_ lackeys,' Jo rolled her eyes. 'When it was just...'

'I know, I know,' a bored expression rolled across his face, 'this whole situation seems almost tame in comparison.'

'Good, I should hope so. With the exception of that gutless monster we're not dealing with the same level of evil here, so we don't need as much force.' Jo tilted her head to one side. 'Our aim is to subdue.'

'Subdue... I'd almost forgotten that was even a word,' Crovell shook his head. 'We haven't had much cause to just subdue the last few years.'

'I know.'

Both of their gazes returned to the gate. As they did a figure came into view moving rapidly towards them. For half a second when Jo spotted who it was she felt her heart stop dead in her chest. Her eyes then slid towards Crovell who was looking more than a little pale.

'I thought you'd caged all unnecessary baggage to this situation.'

'_She_ was baggage to this situation?' Crovell's eyes were wide as he turned his gaze back towards her.

'Uh... yeah, don't you remember the stories?'

'I thought I did, but...'

'You know she's just come back from the heavens, right? She died, it's how...'

'Of course it is,' Crovell gritted his teeth, 'how could I have forgotten. What do we do?'

'Isn't it obvious?'

'If it was obvious I wouldn't be asking. She cannot be allowed to interact with them.'

'You get her to a cage,' Jo rolled her eyes, 'nobody needs to know we saw her and it's not like any of them are going to ask.'

'Okay,' nodding he flicked a purple energy ball into his hand.

'Not like that,' her tone was sharper than she'd meant it to be, 'we can't risk anyone noticing anything, it's too risky.'

'If you say so.'

Crovell closed his eyes and lowered his head. In a blur of movement, a blue shadow emerged from him and shot down the path towards the approaching figure. It enveloped her in a single gulp, before vanishing into nothing.

'The Blue Wolf of Chaos strikes again,' a strange sadness moved through her heart, 'I just hope you hurry back brother.'

* * *

Between all the information she'd been given the previous evening and the hardness of the cage floor, Korin hadn't managed to get much sleep. Her body was stiff and her head was heavy in a groggy kind of way. As she moved herself into a sitting position, she flicked her gaze towards Covo, who was probably the only person she knew who could have slept balanced on a pin on the edge of a cliff in the middle of a typhoon. Physical discomfort, stress, even temperature didn't matter to him, once his eyes closed he was gone for the night and that was it.

She gave a heavy sigh and turned her attention towards the occupants of the other cage. SK was sat propped up, with his head lowered, either in a state of deep meditation or sleep. Jay, on the other hand, was tracing something on the floor of their cage with his finger, whilst quietly murmuring something under his breath.

'What you doing?'

The sound of her voice made him jump. For a few long moments he just stared at her, then he gave a nervously embarrassed cough and shifted his gaze away.

'You're awake?'

'Unlike Macar my body's not made out of the same material as a mattress,' she rolled her eyes. 'He could sleep anywhere; I can't.'

'The dead don't exactly need sleep,' he tilted his head to one side, 'but when he was alive Jay was the same as Covo, still is.'

'Wait, what?' Korin frowned at him.

'Sorry, I should have warned you, I'm Octan right now.'

'Okay...' she felt herself tense.

'Don't worry; Jay's fully aware of what I'm doing. In fact he was the one who asked me to do my own... examination of the situation, see if there was anything he missed.'

'And you couldn't do that last night because...?'

'It took me a while to convince Jay he was okay with the idea.'

'Yeah, that answer doesn't exactly fill me with a lot of confidence,' Korin squirmed.

'Covo was right when he said you really don't like bad boys,' Octan smirked.

'Err... you were listening to that?'

'You were flirting with Jay,' he turned his gaze back down to whatever it was he'd drawn on the ground, 'of course I was paying attention.'

'I was _not_ flirting with him.'

'Please, as old as I am I think I know flirting when I hear it,' Octan's gaze lifted to meet with hers. 'I also know how charming and easy to flirt with Jay happens to be. But he's dead, so that's a no go area, alright?'

'I was _not_ flirting with him,' Korin repeated more insistently, 'not intentionally at any rate. And even if I was it was the harmless, friendly kind of flirting which doesn't lead anywhere, so why does it bother you so much anyway.'

'I told you, because of the laws against the living and the dead having a relationship like that.'

'No, that's just what you want me to believe,' she narrowed her gaze on him, 'what's your real reason?'

'What...?'

Before he could get any further with his question, there was a whirlwind of blue in the cage next to Korin. The whirlwind quickly dissipated leaving a body in its wake.

'Who is it?' Octan rose to his feet and moved towards the bars.

'I think its…' she hesitated, 'I think its Nayta.'

'Well that's just great, isn't it?'

'What's going on?' SK groaned as his body appeared to shiver back into consciousness.

'Apparently our captor intercepted our messenger,' Octan's voice was dry.

'What?' SK leapt to his feet and joined Octan at the cage side. 'Is she okay?'

'Well she's still alive at least,' Korin sighed in relief as she finished examining Nayta.

'Who's still alive?' Now it was Covo's turn to groan and rouse.

'Nayta.'

'Nayta?' His body startled into a state of alertness. 'Oh great,' his voice toned with disgust, 'I should have known.'

'Well what do we do now?' Korin bit her lower lip as she exchanged looks with the others.

'Admit defeat,' Octan folded his arms, 'Jay was right; there is no way we're getting ourselves out of this one.'

* * *

'Do you always do that?'

The sound of his voice startled Tristan a little. His eyes glanced up to see Yugi stood a little way down the hall with a curious look on his face.

'I'm sorry, did I wake you?'

'Not exactly,' Yugi shrugged, 'I figured it was best if we all got up early this morning. So do you...?'

'Do I what?'

'Do you always sit here bouncing a ball like that?'

Tristan gave a heavy sigh and stared down at the ball he was holding. Kaiba was right, it had become his tell, but he couldn't help it. It was either this or...

'It's just a habit I've fallen into,' Tristan began bouncing the ball against the wall opposite again. 'Back when I was in the hospital my doctors encouraged it because it was healthier than any other method I had of dealing with stress at the time.'

'Other methods of dealing with stress?'

'You don't think I went from zero to suicidal overnight, do you?' Tristan kept his gaze focused on the wall.

'I don't really know what I think,' Yugi's voice was strangely soft, 'you haven't exactly been forthcoming with information.'

'Yeah because I really want my friends to know how screwed up in the head I am.'

'But you have no problem with Kaiba knowing?'

'You say that like I had a choice,' Tristan flicked his gaze towards Yugi. 'Kaiba came to me, remember? Or were you not paying attention to that little trip down memory lane Crovell provided us with? Whatever his reasons... whether it was just because of the Pure and the nightmares or... what, he was the one who found me and he was the one who insisted on getting involved. And trust me, when someone sees you in that state there's little point in hiding anything from them anymore.'

'I guess I can understand that, but it's still hard to think of Kaiba actually treating anyone like a friend,' Yugi tilted his head to one side.

'Well that's because he doesn't,' Tristan gritted his teeth. 'He only keeps me around because I owe him, because it's convenient and because it lessons his guilt over neglecting Mokuba. I thought at first maybe there was more to it than that, but I'm not an idiot. Seto doesn't do friendship.'

'But he does let you call him Seto,' Yugi took a seat on the ground next to Tristan, 'so maybe...'

'I don't give him a choice.'

'Huh?'

'I don't give him a choice. I'm the one who decided I was going to call him Seto, not the other way round. It started off just as a... I don't know, joke maybe, a way to annoy him, but he's never said anything. He's never given me the slightest indication that it annoys him, when I'm certain its driving him crazy. Then again even if he did tell me to stop I think he knows I would just keep doing it anyway.'

'Did you ever think that maybe he doesn't mind it?' Yugi pressed his lips together. 'Maybe it's his way of saying all the things he's too proud to admit, like the fact you really are friends?'

'Do I look like a sucker for punishment or something?' Tristan pulled himself to his feet and started throwing his ball again. 'I'm not about to fool myself into thinking he gives a damn about me. I know full well if it wasn't for the Pure he wouldn't have anything to do with me at all. It's a weird thing to be grateful for, but I know that I am. Even if my role in his life is meaningless to him...'

'You really care about him, don't you?' For the statement he was making, Yugi's words were surprisingly mute.

Tristan gripped the ball in his hand for a moment and tried to focus on something... anything else. It wasn't that he didn't want to answer that question; he'd have given just about anything to have been able to answer it. The problem was once the words were out there was just no way of taking them back. And not being able to take them back meant putting other people into situations they might not have wanted to be in.

'Tristan...?'

'It doesn't matter.'

'What?' Yugi frowned.

'Whether or not I care about him,' Tristan started throwing the ball again, 'it doesn't matter. We should be focusing on freeing Mokuba from this being's control or something. This whole conversation is irrelevant and pointless in comparison.'

'So just like that you're shooting down a chance to talk about your feelings with one of your supposedly closest friends?' Yugi sounded disappointed in that way parents do when you refused to live up to their unreasonable expectations.

'I have Dr Charm to talk to about my feelings.'

'But weren't you the one who said your doctor's been encouraging you to reconnect with people.'

'She also said I need to take it at my own pace,' Tristan stuck his chin out a little. 'This conversations already been more revealing than I would have wanted it to be, can't you be happy with that?'

'I guess...'

'Look Yugi, we really should be focusing on Mokuba right now, he is the whole reason you're here in the first place, right?'

'Right,' a weak smile pulled across Yugi's face. 'But you have to remember its hard not to follow your instincts when you're an empath and my instincts are telling me you want to talk about this.'

'Then your instincts are wrong,' Tristan shook his head, 'because that is just about the last thing I want to talk about right now.'


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

'I thought they wanted to meet us here,' Mai began to pace, 'so where are they?'

'Give them a chance Mai, it's still early, maybe they've just been caught up with something,' Duke folded his arms. 'They'll be here.'

'I'm glad you can be so sure,' she rolled her eyes.

'Remind me to let your daughter know just how much faith you have in her,' he shook his head.

'Hey, I...'

'Do you think they've gone to get Tristan and Kaiba?' Catilin bounced on her heels a little.

'Tristan and Kaiba?' Duke frowned. 'Why would they have done that, when they've already got me filling up the useless quota?'

'Because Tristan and Kaiba are Crovell supporters,' Catilin clapped her hands together.

'Says who?'

'Says the fact they're the ones who knew he was coming, err...' she placed her hands behind her back and pressed her lips together, 'that does make sense, right?'

'I'm not totally sure it does,' Duke gave a nervous laugh, 'I also think they want to avoid letting the situation get too complicated. Remember this is all about making sure Joey doesn't die.'

'That's true,' she bounced on her heels again, 'but I still think they might bring them in if they really are Crovell supporters like I think they are.'

'I...'

'Hey has anyone seen Covo?' Ahna cut Duke's sentence off as she entered carrying the baby Crovell. 'Only I couldn't find him or that Korin girl anywhere.'

'I don't think I've seen either of them since yesterday evening,' Duke frowned.

'Me either,' Catilin titled her head from side to side. 'When was the last time anyone else saw them?'

'Last night I think,' Ahna bit her lower lip. 'You don't think anything bad has happened to them, do you?'

'Covo's tough, he proved that last month, remember?' Catilin skipped towards her. 'I'm sure nothing bad's happened to him and that wherever he is he's protecting Korin too.'

'Hmm.'

'You don't want him to protect Korin?'

Before Ahna could answer, Jo and the older Crovell entered.

'Good, everyone's here,' Crovell grinned.

'Everyone except Covo and Korin,' Ahna found herself meeting his gaze.

'Yeah, but they're accounted for.'

'What do you mean?'

'It doesn't matter,' Crovell and Jo exchanged a glance. 'Look, too many people would complicate things anyway. Consider their absence as a fair exchange for Kaiba and Tristan's presence.'

'What good are they?' Duke laughed in surprise. 'I mean Korin and Covo could…'

'Get a lot of wolves killed.' Jo cut him off.

'Huh?'

'We know how things turned out originally remember and we're trying to avoid that happening this time. Trust me Kaiba is more useful to us than either of them pretty much _because_ he's powerless.'

'What?' Mai frowned. 'How does that make any sense?'

'Last time people's instincts took over when dealing with the wolves. Powers were used, sometimes more forcefully than they should have been and a lot of them ended up getting killed,' Crovell's tone was deadly serious. 'We can't allow that to happen again, not if we're trying to make everything better.'

'But... they're working for Sta, aren't they?' Catilin looked upset. 'Shouldn't he be protecting them?'

'That's what you'd convinced yourself of last time. That's why none of you held back. But that's also why there were so many casualties,' Jo lowered her gaze. 'Trust me it was not a mistake you made twice.'

'Made twice?' Catilin took a step towards her. 'You mean something like this will happen again?'

'Not if we change things enough it won't,' Crovell's jaw line hardened. 'That's why we're going to use the plan devised during the Game Master's attacks.'

'Game Master?' Ahna frowned.

'We're hoping by changing this event you'll never have to deal with the Game Master, so we're not going to go into too much detail,' Jo folded her arms. 'All you need to know is that they used the wolves and a number of the other predatory Silkoneons in a similar manner to the way Sta's using the pack right now.'

'And since nobody wanted a repeat of the Sta catastrophe we came up with a way of... controlling the violence as much as possible,' Crovell activated the dueldisk he was wearing and cocked an eyebrow.

'You've gotta be kidding me,' Mai laughed in disbelief, 'you expect us to duel them? Somehow I don't see any of them agreeing to that.'

'We're not asking you to duel them, not exactly at any rate,' Jo's voice was calm. 'See, we know the holograms can't hurt them, but they don't. Not anymore at least.'

'Wait, are you saying we should attack them with duel monsters?' Catilin stared at her.

'That's exactly what we're saying.'

'But won't they figure out sooner or later that the attacks aren't real?'

'Of course they will,' Jo gave a dismissive flick of her right hand, 'but that's what we're counting on.'

'I don't get it,' Ahna shook her head, 'wouldn't that just anger them further?'

'From our experience, no.'

'But how does using duel monsters against them help anybody?' Catilin shuffled her feet. 'You've already said it won't keep them at bay for long, so what good does it do?'

'A lot, actually and you were the one to discover it,' Jo smiled at her. 'In our timeline I mean. You figured out this was the only way to make them human again.'

'What?' Mai's voice squeaked more than she meant it to. 'How?'

'By reminding them of who they really are.'

'Of course,' a strange smile pulled at Mai's lips, 'Joey is a duellist and duelling would remind him of himself. So... maybe I should use his own deck against him.'

'Don't bother,' Crovell deactivated his dueldisk again revealing the fact a deck had already been placed into the card dispenser, 'I use my father's deck now and if anyone's going to be facing him with it, it's going to be me.'

* * *

The Wen had behaved exactly the way he thought they would. They were just as predictable in this time as they had been in his, vying for power and position over everything else. It was disgusting, but at the same time it was admirable. A proud smirk pulled its way across his face as he swaggered his way into the little cave. He might have had everything he needed to get the wolves under control, but dealing with Crovell and his nuisance of a sister was a different story. It was going to require a little more effort and it was going to be a lot more fun.

'I hope you remember the rules to this little game,' he smiled cruelly to himself as he retrieved the casket from its hiding place, 'because it's the last one you're ever gonna play.'

* * *

'What do you mean we can't go with you?' Kaiba glared at him. 'He's my brother Yugi; I should be the one to save him from this monster.'

'I don't even know what reason to start with here,' Yugi shook his head. 'You're powerless, so you've no way of getting yourself... anywhere Mokuba might be right now _and_ you've no way of dealing with him even if you were in the same place. On top of all that you've also been lying to everybody, I'm sorry but you need to suffer the repercussions of that.'

'You're really going to hold my brother's life hostage like this?'

'That's not what I'm doing.'

'No, you're just choosing to punish us for no good reason.'

'No good reason?' Yugi stared at him. 'You've created a weapon even more powerful than all eight of the Elemental Weapons combined for an infant you want to usurp the First so you can move up in the pecking order a little and you don't think I'd have a problem with that? I'm the host to the Face of Friendship, remember?'

'If the Passive Mistress knows what's good for her, she'll support what we're doing here. She could make life a lot easier for herself that way.'

'Considering what happened last month, calling her the Passive Mistress isn't going to win you any points,' Yugi glared. 'It will, on the other hand, give me plenty more reasons to leave you behind. The two of you need to learn to let the rest of us in, because doing things on your own all the time will get you nowhere.'

'Says the guy about to go off and save _my_ brother on his own.'

'I never said I was going to go it alone; I just said the two of you couldn't help,' Yugi rolled his eyes. 'Will you just accept it already?'

'It's not like you're giving me much of a choice,' Kaiba averted his gaze. 'Who knew you could be such a hard ass.'

'Whatever,' Yugi shook his head and made his way towards the door. 'Just try to remember I'm doing you a favour here; so a little gratitude wouldn't go astray.'

'Hmm.'

'Look, this situation is far from ideal,' Yugi came to a stop just in front of the door. 'You and Tristan have put me in a difficult situation. I now know you've been lying to us and whether or not I believe your reasons, I still have to decide if I'm going to tell the others about this.'

'I thought you telling the others would have been a given at this point,' Tristan frowned.

'I would have thought so too, but...' Yugi placed a hand over his stomach, 'I'm not sure things are really that clear cut right now. But I do want to ask you one think Kaiba.'

'What?' Kaiba studied him for a moment.

'Last month, when the sisters were fighting, did the Pure... did she ever see the Face of Friendship as a challenge or was she solely focused on taking down the First?'

'Yugi...?'

'Don't lie to me, just tell me the truth, I need to know,' Yugi's gaze met with Kaiba's. 'I need to know because there were three people in that battle and the Face of Friendship _was_ one of them.'


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

'Yugi are you alright?' The ghostly image of the Pharaoh appeared beside him as he walked along the corridor.

'I'm fine,' as he spoke he could feel his neck twitch to the side, 'I just want another look at that weapon before we go talk to the others.'

'Another look at the weapon?' The curiosity in the Pharaoh's voice was more than apparent. 'But... why?'

'I don't know,' he shrugged, 'to figure out if I really believe them or not. I want to know what I'm going to tell the others about this situation when I see them.'

'I would have thought you'd have made your mind up about that by now.'

'Well I haven't okay,' he couldn't keep the agitation out of his voice. 'Whether or not I believe the reasons they've given me for creating it, the fact that it exists poses more than a few opportunities.'

'Opportunities?' The Pharaoh frowned. 'What do you mean?'

'With the kind of power that weapon has to offer the Face of Friendship could put her sisters in their place,' a strange smile twitched at Yugi's lips. 'If they think they can continue to underestimate her...'

He left the statement hanging as they entered the room the Axe was being housed in. Beside him he could sense the Pharaoh's concern about the situation. Yugi couldn't blame him for being worried; there was a part of Yugi which couldn't quite believe what he was thinking or feeling either, but at the same time...

'Well this is just about the last place I'd thought I'd find you at this stage in the game,' a familiar voice scoffed from the shadows. 'Don't tell me you've already aligned yourself with Crovell.'

'Crovell?' Yugi glanced around, trying to spot the voice's owner.

'Oh, this is too much,' the voice laughed, 'you're actually here helping the Pure? And I didn't think it was possible for me to think any less of you.'

'What...?'

'Well, whatever your reasons for being here and whoever it is you're helping, isn't going to matter for much longer,' the light glinted off of something around the figure's wrist as they pulled their way out of the shadows, 'because in a matter of seconds you're going to be working for me.'

'I...' before Yugi could finish his sentence, he felt something cold encircle his wrist.

He stared down at it to discover a gold cuff like bracelet. There was something familiar about it, but he didn't have much time to dwell on what as he felt something cold shudder through his brain.

'Congratulations Yugi,' the figure chuckled as Yugi's eyes moved back up towards him, 'now you're working for me.'

* * *

Ahna left baby Crovell with Duke as she went to fetch her dueldisk and deck from her chambers. As she picked them both up she vividly remembered the last time she'd used them both. It had been against Yugi in the Tournament of D. A deep shudder ran up and down her spine as she remembered the event. It had been her first step towards the darkness lurking within her soul and a part of her wondered if strapping the dueldisk on would somehow allow that darkness to return.

'Will you be the Copycat duellist again?'

The sound of her voice made Ahna half jump out of her skin.

'Catilin?' She spun round to face her. 'I thought you were supposed to be collecting Kaiba and Tristan.'

'They can wait,' Catilin took a step towards her. 'I'm worried about you. The darkness made that deck you're holding, right? Or at least put some cards in it. I remember how much you hated _those_ cards. So I... I want to know are they still in there.'

'Veronie locked the Light to Shadow and Shadow to Light cards up after the tournament Cat, you know that,' Ahna smiled weakly at her.

'I wasn't talking about those cards silly, I meant the other ones. The Shadowy World, the Creatures from the Shadows and... the Sen Pay,' she pressed her lips together. 'I know Crovell said he wasn't going to actualise the monsters, but I think we might need them.'

'What are you sensing right now?' Ahna studied her for a few moments. 'I mean, you are sensing something, right? That's the reason you're here and not off at the Kaibas' right now.'

'Mm,' Catilin lowered her gaze and swung her body from side to side.

'Well then, what is it?'

'Mokuba...'

'What about Mokuba?'

'Crovell hasn't remembered about him. When he was telling us his plan he was acting like things were still gonna go the way they did the first time round. But the first time round Mokuba was _our_ Mokuba, now he's _their_ Mokuba and I don't think he's gonna play nice. I really don't think he's gonna play nice at all.'

'That's a good point,' Ahna stared down at her deck.

'_Their_ Mokuba wants to play, I can sense it,' her gaze turned towards the ceiling. 'He's going to make this _his_ game and not ours. So I think... I think you're gonna need those cards Ahna.'

'I think you might be right...'

'Uh... but I guess I'd better go fetch Tristan and Kaiba now,' Catilin bounced on her heels, 'neither of them are gonna be happy to see me though, are they?'

'So then why did you volunteer to go?'

'Because I wanna find out for sure if they really are Crovell supporters,' she grinned.

'Oh Catilin...'

'What?' Catilin blinked at her.

'Promise me something will you?'

'I'll promise you anything Ahna,' she giggled.

'Promise me...' she sighed, 'promise me when you fetch them you won't do anything stupid.'

* * *

'You eat rats?' Mokuba stared at the hoard of dead rodents the skeletal Tristan returned with.

'Rats, cockroaches, spiders, even the occasional cat,' Tristan's voice was dry but free of sarcasm. 'When food is scarce... hell when everything's scares you can't afford to be picky.'

'Rats aren't so bad to eat baby monster,' Lilac grinned at him. 'They can be a little bit chewy, but they're not all crunchy like cockroaches. Still,' she turned her gaze towards Tristan, 'cat would have been nicer.'

'Maybe next time Ly,' Tristan shifted his gaze away.

'But uncle Tristan...'

'I said next time,' he glared at her.

'I can't believe this...' Mokuba shook his head, 'this is nuts.'

'No, this is hell,' Duke folded his arms, 'so you eat what you can get round here. And trust me, rats rank quite highly in comparison to some of the things we've consumed.'

'They've never made me sick either,' Lilac pulled herself up to her full height, 'not like the spiders, blah.'

'The fire's almost out,' Hazelnut stared into the dying embers, 'who's turn is it to rekindle it?'

'I think it's mine,' the skeletal Kaiba rose to his feet.

'Can there be a big spark uncle Seto,' Lilac clapped her hands in a way which reminded Mokuba of Catilin.

'I think there are enough embers left to...'

'Seto,' Tristan shot him a look.

'Whatever,' Kaiba rolled his eyes and moved towards the room's selection of broken furniture.

He took out two of the drawers from a broken chest of drawers and placed them on the ground. He flick summoned a rather dirty-grey looking energy ball and used it to shatter the drawers into fire wood. He then levitated the pieces into the dying embers before clapping his hands dramatically together and flinging them almost wildly to the side in an overly staged manner. This strange action caused a lightning like spark to burst up out of the embers rekindling the fire.

'Yay,' Lilac danced around in a child-like manner.

'How the hell did you do that?' Mokuba gawked at him.

'I'm the Pure's host,' Kaiba's voice was as dry as the look he sent in Mokuba's direction, 'I have access to her powers.'

'No... you don't, you asked for all her powers to be blocked after she took possession of you last month... err... last month my time.'

'Asked for them to be blocked?' Kaiba frowned.

'Jo said there'd been changes to the timeline,' Tristan tilted his head in thought, 'I guess in the new version of things we geared the punishment a little.'

'Are you saying in your timeline their powers weren't blocked?' Mokuba studied the two of them for a moment.

'In our timeline their powers were stripped,' he shrugged, 'when Jo said there'd been a change to our punishment I figured we'd managed to hold onto our powers somehow.'

'Okay, but... how did you get them back?'

'One final act of rebellion by the Face of Friendship before Yugi died,' Kaiba folded his arms. 'With the number of power wielding survivors quickly dwindling down to nothing he knew he had to do something to... even our odds a little and protect those who couldn't protect themselves.'

'Protect them against what?'

'This is hell baby monster,' Hazelnut shot him a sour look, 'there's very little around these parts we don't need protecting from.'

Without saying another word she pulled a penknife out of her pocket and made her way towards Tristan. Taking a rat off of him, she skewered it on the blade before making her way towards the fire and idly turning it over the flames. One by one the others did the same and Mokuba couldn't help but notice the second rat skewered on his brother's knife. Something told him this rat was meant for him and, as the putrid smell of heavily singed fur began to fill the room, he seriously began to wish his brother hadn't bothered.

'How can you stand it?' Mokuba's noise twitched with disgust.

'Stand what?' Duke voice was mute.

'That smell,' he pulled a face, 'it's vile.'

'I guess we just don't notice it anymore,' he shrugged. 'And I can't say it bothered me when I did. Starvation's like that you know. Well,' he glared back round at him, 'I guess _you_ wouldn't.'

Mokuba swallowed hard, turned his head away and prayed he wouldn't throw up. There was something about the way his insides felt which made him strangely sure he wouldn't and a part of him couldn't help but wonder if maybe his future self was also used to a diet of _whatever living thing you can find_. It would explain why the feeling of revolution was more psychological and less physical. Or at least he hoped it did.

After about five minutes or so of silence, the soft sound of someone singing in a low voice reached his ears. The melody had an eerily haunting quality to it and the voice itself was beautifully soothing. His eyes turned back towards the group and he was more than a little surprised to discover it was Lilac and not Hazelnut singing.

'You have a really pretty voice.'

'Baby monsters find things pretty?' Lilac blinked at him.

'I... I don't know about baby monsters, but I know I thought it was pretty. But... what was it you were singing?'

'Our…'

'None of your business,' Hazelnut cut her sister off.

Lilac gave her sister an odd look, before sighing heavily and shifting her gaze back to what would soon become her breakfast. The silence then returned, somehow heavier than before. It was another five or ten minutes before anything else happened and it started with the strangely ominous sign of Kaiba walking over to him. Without saying a word, he untied Mokuba from the chair and pushed him out of it. Then, using a shorter length of rope, he bound Mokuba's hands together.

'You eat and then you go back,' Kaiba's voice was cold, with the strangest hint of amusement buried in it.

'I think I'd rather starve,' Mokuba shook his head.

'Fine,' Kaiba shrugged, 'I'll just tie you back up again.'

'No!'

'Well those are your options,' Kaiba smirked, 'either you eat or you stay in the chair. It doesn't bother me either way.'

'Okay...' Mokuba swallowed hard again, 'I'll eat.'

'That's what I thought.'

Kaiba grabbed Mokuba by the collar and dragged him towards the fire. Once there, he roughly pushed him to the ground. He then slid one of the cooked rats off of his knife and onto the floor in front of Mokuba. For a few long moments Mokuba just stared at the charred rodent, before tentatively using his bound hands to pick it up. As he lifted it towards his mouth his body made strange feelings of protest and revolution. It still wasn't a feeling of sickness though, which made Mokuba wonder if maybe it was just in his head.

He glanced nervously round at the others, who were already eating. It was strange to think this was normal for their weird little family unit. Something about the thought made the idea of eating the rat somehow less revolting, even if it didn't take away the weird feeling inside his stomach. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, Mokuba bit into his rat. He tore a small chunk off with his teeth which he spent ages chewing as he tried to convince his suddenly uncooperative body to swallow it. The second he did his whole body cavity erupted in pain and he began to retch, spewing up blood along with the well chewed chunk of rat flesh.

'I guess you have don't have the stomach for it,' Hazelnut gave a laugh almost too cruel for a girl of her age.

Her comment set the rest of them off, the sound of their combined laughter sending shock waves of fear and distress rippling through Mokuba's soul.

'What's wrong with me?' Mokuba did his best to keep his voice level as he wiped blood away from his mouth.

'We told you already,' Duke's voice was filled with the same dark amusement Hazelnut's had been, 'you have don't have the stomach for it.'

'I... I don't... what...?'

'Mokuba,' he chuckled, 'you have no stomach.'


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

'Where… where am I?' The words groaned their way out of Nayta as she started to come round.

'In a cage, like the rest of us,' Korin sighed. 'How you feeling?'

'Like someone hit me in the head with a hammer from the inside,' her eyes slowly opened as she winced against the light. 'I'm not dead again, am I?'

'Not as far as we can tell.' Jay leant against the bars of his cage and folded his arms.

'So then how did I get here?' Nayta massaged her temples as she pulled herself into a sitting position.

'Almost the exact same way the rest of us did,' his voice was dry and almost deadpan, 'you were brought here by our congenial host.'

'You didn't by any chance have time to deliver our little message before winding up here, did you?' SK licked his lips.

'Sorry,' she shook her head.

'Well that's no big shock,' Jay rolled his eyes.

'Can we not get Jay back now Octan,' SK half glared at him, 'you're attitude is starting to get on my nerves.'

'It doesn't take much to get on your nerves,' Jay returned his look, 'and I'll leave when I want.'

'What does Jay think about that?' SK's tongue skated across his lips again.

'Jay thinks it's your fault we ended up here in the first place so you should just shut up and take it.'

'Really?'

'Guys, I've no idea what you're going on about right now, but it's just adding to my headache,' Nayta winced at them. 'Could you please stop?'

Jay rolled his eyes again whilst SK lowered his and licked his lips several more times. Nayta gave a heavy sigh leaving Covo with little more he could do than wish this situation would resolve itself sooner rather than later. Just as he was thinking this Yugi entered. There was something strange about the drain expression on his face and one glance in Korin's direction told Covo she was thinking the same thing. As they watched, Yugi made his way across the room and started doing something to the lock on Jay and SK's cage.

'Yugi, how...?' SK stared at him.

'I could sense you were in trouble,' Yugi's voice was as dull as the expression on his face, 'I'm here to get you out.'

'Well thank Fray for that,' Nayta laughed. 'I guess I don't have the multiverse's worst luck after all.'

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' Covo's mouth felt more than a little dry.

'I agree,' Jay focused his gaze on Yugi, 'I mean, if you could sense us up here then why didn't you come rescue us sooner?'

'I am here to get you out,' Yugi's voice remained deadpan.

'Yugi are you okay?' If SK's tongue crossed his lips with anymore frequency Covo was pretty sure they'd wear away.

'I am here to get you out,' once again Yugi's voice was lifeless.

As strange feelings of anxiety twisted through Covo's stomach, he watched the cage around SK and Jay dissolve. Almost as soon as it had Yugi began work on the cage he, Nayta and Korin were in. In less time than it had taken with the other cage the three of them were free and all five of their attentions were focused on Yugi.

'What's going on with you,' Jay wasted no time.

'I'm here to get you out,' Yugi's response was the one Covo had expected.

'Can't you manage any response other than that?' Jay stared at him. 'Is someone controlling you? Is that it?'

'You're so intuitive Octan,' a strangely voice sounded from the shadows of the room, 'but it's not you I'm after right now, so why don't you take a nice little nap.'

A look of pain crossed Jay's face and he pressed his hands against the sides of his head. Seconds later his eyes lifted in the direction the voice had come from with a look somewhere between confusion and curiosity in them.

'Who are you and how were you able to switch us like that?' Jay's voice was strangely calm.

'Oh, you know who I am,' the owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows, making Jay, SK and Covo gasp in surprise.

'How...?' SK's jaw hung open. 'What's going on here?'

'What's going on my dear cousin, is that I'm recruiting people,' Mokuba chuckled. 'See there's this little game I want to play with an old friend of mine and you're the ones I want to play it with,' as he spoke gold cuff bracelets appeared on their right wrists, 'every last one of you.'

* * *

Tristan wasn't easily startled, but the sudden and unexpected way she just appeared in the hallway in front of him did make him jump more than a little.

'Catilin, what the hell?'

'I didn't scare you, did I Tristan?' Catilin blinked at him.

'No, but I would like to know what the hell you're doing here.'

'I'm here to collect you and Kaiba,' she bounced on her heels for a moment.

'Collect me and Kaiba?' Tristan frowned. 'Is this because of what Yugi told you?'

'Yugi?' Catilin stared at him. 'We haven't seen Yugi today. I was sent here to get you and Kaiba and Kaiba's deck and dueldisk.'

'Wait you need Kaiba's deck and dueldisk too?' Tristan frowned. 'What for?'

'You'll find out once we have them,' Catilin grinned at him. 'Come on, let's go, we don't have much time to get back.'

Tristan found himself studying Catilin for a long time. He knew she wasn't evil anymore, but there was still something about her he really didn't like. It might have been the way she was supposed to be the Mind of Win, yet spent half her time acting like some deranged five year old. A fact which annoyed him further when he realised she was actually a lot more intelligent than he was, she just chose not to use that intelligence... _ever_. Then again it could have been even simpler than that. He could just not like her because she'd somehow found a way of wiggling herself into _his_ friendship group despite the fact she'd not only been the incarnation of evil, but had also been a murderer. Okay so maybe she'd committed the murder under someone else's manipulative control and couldn't really remember it, but still...

'Are you going to take me to Kaiba or not?' Catilin's face filled with a childish pout. 'I told you we don't have time to waste and you're wasting it.'

'Whatever,' Tristan turned, 'follow me.'

Tristan led her to a large room at the back of the house with a set of French doors which opened out onto the garden. Kaiba was stood just outside the French doors, leaning against the doorframe staring out across the garden.

'You do remember you have to pay for the heating bill, right?' Tristan shivered as an icy draft crossed the room towards him.

'You're right _I_ am the one who pays for the heating bill, so if _I_ want to waste a little heat that's _my_ choice,' Kaiba turned to face them. 'What's she doing here?'

'I'm here to fetch you,' Catilin pulled herself up to her full height. 'You need to grab your dueldisk and your deck and then you and Tristan need to come with me to Sil.'

'Why?' Kaiba frowned at her.

'Because I've been told to.'

'Since when do you do what you're told,' Kaiba rolled his eyes.

'I always do what I'm told,' she folded her arms. 'I'm just sometimes told to do bad things. That's not my fault.'

'Of course it isn't,' his voice toned with sarcasm, 'nothing is ever your fault, is it Catilin? And it never will be as long as you have the First bowing to your every whim.'

'She doesn't bow to my whims,' Catilin's expression twisted with annoyance. 'And anyway I think you're right about deposing the First.'

'I'm sorry what was that?' Kaiba cocked an eyebrow at her.

'I think you're right about deposing the First and... and about putting Crovell in her place. That is what you really want, right? When you were talking about forming a triad with Crovell, it was with him at the top, right?'

'How...?' Tristan found himself staring at her.

'I can figure things out all by myself you know,' her eyes flicked between the two of them. 'So I am right.'

'We never said you were right,' Kaiba shook his head.

'But you didn't say I was wrong either,' Catilin grinned at him, 'that means I am right. And I want to help you, but you need to do what I say first.'

'Why should we believe you?' Tristan folded his arms. 'How do we know you're not doing this to try and trick us somehow? We're in enough trouble as it is.'

'I know, but I want to help you get Crovell in control. That is what you want, right? But in order to do that you need to help everybody save the future first.'

'I'm sorry, what?'

'The future's in trouble, that's what all this is about right now. We have someone who can help us save it, but he wants you so we need you. Will you help us?'

'This person wouldn't happen to be called CL, would he?' Kaiba gritted his teeth. 'Because if he is then I've been meaning to have more than a few words with him myself.'

'CL?' Catilin blinked. 'Uh... Crovell Lutoni,' a look of realisation filled her face. 'Was CL the kid you were talking about before? Because if it is then he's really future Crovell.'

'What?' Tristan exchanged a look with Kaiba.

'Suddenly things are making a whole lot more sense,' Kaiba rolled his eyes. 'But that doesn't mean I don't want to talk to him.'

'So you'll help us then?' Catilin grinned.

'Sure, why not,' Kaiba shrugged, 'it's not like we've anything better to do right now, except wait for Yugi that is.'

'Wait for Yugi?'

'He's supposed to be helping us with a problem of our own,' Tristan tilted his head to one side, 'but he's probably going to be at Sil when we get there, so we might as well wait to explain.'

* * *

'Jo, please tell me something's wrong with my nose or I'm going insane or something,' Crovell stared at her, 'because if my nose is really telling me what I think it's telling me...'

'I can't smell the wolves anymore either,' Jo's voice was strangely mute.

'I did not want to hear you say that,' he shook his head. 'I really, really did not want to hear you say that. Jo, please tell me you anticipated something like this happening. Please tell me you know what's going on.'

'This has to have something to do with the gutless demon,' Jo gritted her teeth, 'it's the only explanation I have, but...'

'That wretched creature, we had this whole situation in hand and he goes and pulls a stunt like this.'

'All we know right now is that the wolves aren't where they're supposed to be,' Jo placed a hand on his shoulder, 'you don't know...'

'You're not an idiot Jo, so don't do yourself a disservice by talking like one,' he glared at her. 'It doesn't matter why the wolves are missing, whether he's behind it or not, it messes up everything and you know it. So don't play the naive little sister because we both know you're no good at it.'

'Are you angry with me?' Jo stared at him.

'That will depend on whether or not you're happy this has happened.'

'Crovell... how can you say that?'

'How can I not,' his hand gripped her stomach so quickly and so suddenly it made her gasp in a mixture of shock and surprise. 'We both know your hearts not in this plan anymore, why else would you not have made any provisions for something like this happening?'

'So I made one oversight,' she met and held his gaze, 'that doesn't mean I'm trying to jeopardise everything; it just means I'm human. And for the record I am not happy about this, maybe my hearts not in this plan anymore but yours still is and you more than anyone should know the lengths I'll go to to make you happy. I love you.'

'Jo you can't say things like that here,' Crovell shook his head, 'they won't understand.'

'I don't care,' she turned away from him, 'and I hate that you do. You're Chaos and I'm Order, I should be the one who's ashamed but I'm not.'

'Jo...'

'Oh forget it,' she shrugged his hand off the second it made contact with her shoulder, 'we've got a pack of wolves to worry about.'


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

'Wh-what?' The word trembled out of Mokuba's mouth. 'Wh-what do...? I don't...'

'You killed my son,' Duke crossed the room towards him, 'do you really think a crime like that would go unpunished?'

'I...'

'When you killed Drake, I felt like my insides had been torn out and all I could think about was making you feel the pain that I was feeling.' Duke roughly pulled up Mokuba's shirt revealing his chest and stomach, both of which had been badly mutilated. 'Your stomach, your liver, your kidneys, most of your intestines, your heart, a fair part of your lungs,' he lightly traced the mangled scaring with his fingers 'I wanted to completely gut you and I would have too,' he gave a half laugh, 'if Catilin hadn't of stopped me when she did.'

'I… I… I…' his eyes filled with tears, 'I should be dead.'

'There's a reason we call your future counterpart the gutless demon.'

'Heartless monster,' Tristan chipped in.

'Stomach-less beast,' Kaiba smirked.

'Monster with no heart,' Duke pulled up Mokuba's right sleeve to reveal the edge of a tattoo on the underside of his still bound right wrist.

Mokuba stared at it for a moment, before noticing both his brother and Tristan were holding up their right arms. His eyes went up towards them and he couldn't help but notice the strange, matching tattoos on the undersides of both of their wrists. Something told Mokuba it matched his own and a feeling like cold sweat moved through him.

'You cursed them because you feared the power they would gain in death,' Duke's voice was slick with anger, 'but you cursed yourself because you were afraid of losing yourself to the other Win parts. You watched Mai and Catilin become one being after they died and couldn't stand the thought of that happening to you, because they didn't want what you wanted and you were afraid of losing everything.'

'So... so I cursed myself with immortality?' Mokuba shook his head. 'I don't... I don't understand...'

'You really are a baby,' Duke gripped Mokuba's collar so tightly it was hard to breathe, 'don't you get it? Immortality was the only way you could guarantee remaining separate from the other Win parts. And you had to remain separate from them in order to gain enough power to take over the multiverse for yourself with the First in some token position. God I hate her.'

'The First?' Mokuba stared at him.

'Who else? She lets you get away with murder and says it's because she's powerless to stop you, but I don't believe that bull. The First doesn't stop you because she doesn't care. She might not be the gutless monster you are, but she's just as much of a heartless fiend. How else could she so calmly standby and watch everybody suffer when she could have so easily stopped it? When she could have so easily stopped you.'

'And she has the nerve to call it her guilt,' Kaiba's voice was filled with disgust.

'I... I don't understand,' Mokuba's eyes watered with tears, 'how... how did things end up like this?'

'Sixteen years ago her host fell under the control of Sta and the other Wen,' Tristan's voice was cold. 'Joey was wounded badly, but he didn't have to die. _She_ let him die because she believed her host had made her vulnerable. Things quickly destabilised after that, although it took a long time before we really started seeing the effects of it in our reality.'

'Although we could all see what it was doing to you,' Duke gritted his teeth as the look in his eyes burned its way into Mokuba's soul. 'To begin with we just thought you were hurt over the way the Pure had treated you, and it was the Pure by the way and not Kaiba who treated you badly, but for some reason you just couldn't be made to see the difference. No matter how hard Kaiba and Tristan tried to convince you they were in control and the Higher Beings who shared their bodies weren't going to try anything anymore, it didn't matter, you didn't believe them and it just pushed you further and further away.'

'But then nobody believed us at first,' Kaiba balled his hands into tight fists, 'they all thought we were the bad guys. It wasn't until the chaos started breaking into our reality and your true colours started to show that people realised the truth. We might have gone about it all wrong, but we were the ones trying to stop the multiverse from falling apart.'

'So... you're saying they... the Pure and Win are the good ones here?' Mokuba wasn't sure how he felt about that idea.

'They were the ones who knew things needed to change,' Duke gritted his teeth, 'but by the time the rest of us were on the same page they were it was too late. There was nothing we could do to reverse the damage and every attempt we made to try and stop it from getting worse was foiled by you and anyone else still loyal to the First. Eventually we realised trying to change our present was pointless, we had to find some way of changing the past.'

'So that's why...?'

'Well would you look at that, the baby monster might not have a stomach but he sure as hell has a brain,' Kaiba cocked an eyebrow at him.

'If you knew I had no stomach why did you offer me food?' Mokuba almost didn't want to ask the question, but it was out before he could stop it.

'Why do you think?' His brother smirked.

'Because you wanted to be cruel.'

'We have to entertain the girls somehow,' he indicated callously towards the sisters. 'And you girls are entertained, right?' Kaiba grinned at them. 'This is as much fun for you as it is for us, right?'

'The baby monster's fun to play with,' Lilac's eyes shone with excitement.

'If you're a good girl you can have your own chance to play with him later, if you like.'

'Does that go for me too uncle Seto,' the expression on Hazelnut's face was hard to read.

'I'm not the one who plays favourites, remember,' he shrugged, 'if you want to earn a chance to play with him then who am I to stop you?'

'Are you... are you going to tie me back in the chair now?' Mokuba forced himself to speak just to end the conversation they were having.

'After we've finished eating,' Kaiba flicked a dark look in his direction. 'Until then feel free to stretch your legs, but if you know what's good for you, you won't leave this room. Tristan and I've figured out a way of killing you and, baby monster of not, I am prepared to do it.'

* * *

'You,' Kaiba narrowed his gaze on the kid.

'What's the matter Kaiba,' Crovell folded his arms, 'I thought you'd be happy to see me at this point. I am Crovell Lutoni after all, or hasn't that come up in conversation yet?'

'It has,' he continue to stare the kid down, 'but I'm assuming that thief in control of my brother's body has something to do with you.'

'Personally I prefer calling him a gutless demon,' Crovell smirked, 'but I guess right now thief is an appropriate term for him.'

'So is Yugi here then?' Tristan's gaze moved idly around the room they were in.

'Yugi?' Crovell frowned.

'We asked for his help with the Mokuba problem, I assumed he would have come here.'

'I've not seen him, but Jo's off collecting the others now so maybe he's with them. Although I'd rather he wasn't, that's just another body I'd have to account for and I was trying to keep the numbers as low as possible.'

As he was speaking Ahna, Catilin, Mai, Duke and a blonde girl carrying the baby Crovell entered.

'You trying to be funny sis?' Crovell cocked an eyebrow at her.

'I just wanted to see how it felt to be older than you for once,' the blonde girl smirked.

'I'm sure,' he rolled his eyes and made his way towards her.

'Are you sure you wanna be the one to do this?' The girl passed the baby over to him.

'Who better to stop me than myself?' Crovell shrugged, before taking a deep breath in and turning his attention back towards the others. 'Okay, anyone who isn't currently wearing a dueldisk, I have a little gift for you.' He nodded towards the table in the corner and three strange looking dueldisks appeared. 'Nobody really duels anymore, but I still had quite a job convincing your future counterparts to part with these for a while,' he gave a half laugh. 'The black one with the gold trim actually belongs to our Kaiba, our Duke refused point blank to let us take our Catilin's. Which means,' he gave Catilin a strange smile, 'you'll also be using our Kaiba's deck.'

'What?' Kaiba glared at him.

'It couldn't be helped,' he shrugged again, 'we needed three and this was the only way to get it. But don't worry, all three Blue Eyes were taken out, that was our Kaiba's one stipulation. Now,' he turned his attention back to the others, 'the gold one with black trim belongs to our Tristan and the dark green one with orange trim belongs to our Duke. I'm not about to stand here and tell you two your future counterparts are champion duellists, you can hold your own for sure, but you're not even in my league never mind Yugi or Kaiba's. The truth is you both mainly duel in situations like this, so your skills and your decks are more... survivor level.'

'Does that mean things like this happens a lot,' Catilin tilted her head to one side.

'In our time line, yeah, but I'm hoping that's one of the things which will change.'

'Okay,' she wondered over to the table and removed the deck slotted into the card dispenser on the black dueldisk; slowly she began flicking through the cards. 'There really are no Blue Eyes in this deck.'

'Of course not, no future self of mine would let anyone use _my_ Blue Eyes,' Kaiba's tone was as firm as it was passionate.

'You really don't change,' Crovell smirked and shook his head.

'So how exactly is this going to work?' Mai's voice was filled with more than a note of uncertainty. 'I mean, I get that we use the holograms to attack them, but…'

'Well it's actually quite simple,' Jo tilted her head to one side, 'in an annoyingly complicated way. See most of them are too far gone now to even remember what a hologram is, so to begin with they will believe they have taken damage from the attacks, which should be enough to get them to tap into their Elemental powers.'

'But isn't that risky for us.'

'Of course,' she folded her arms, 'but I never said this plans was without risk and eventually they will work out the monsters they're attacking aren't real. When they do, it'll be time to lead them into the great hall.'

'Why? What's gonna happen once they're in the great hall?' Catilin blinked at her.

'Well that's when we try to remind them of who they are. In theory by this point some of them should have started coming round anyway, so it shouldn't be too hard.'

'It feels strange,' she tilted her head to one side, 'we're about to use an evil game for a good reason. But... I guess the games not so evil anymore.'

'I'm not sure if I'd say that exactly,' Jo pulled a face, 'but then again I've faced off against the Game Master and nothing could compare to... _him_...'

'Why did you say _him_ like that,' Catilin frowned at her, 'is the Game Master not a boy?'

'Err...'

'Who is the Game Master anyway?'

'It doesn't matter,' Crovell shook his head, 'explaining would just needlessly complicate things and waste time.'

'Okay,' Catilin bounced on her heels for a moment. 'So when are the wolves suppose to get here?'

Jo and Crovell exchanged a worried glance, but said nothing.

'You said the wolves were supposed to attack in the morning, right?' Catilin acted almost oblivious to their tension. 'That's why everyone had to get up early, so we would all be ready. Well the morning's almost over now, so that means the wolves have to get here soon, right?'

'Well you see that's just the thing,' Jo bit her lip and averted her gaze, 'they should be here already.'


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

'Just what the hell does _Win Mokuba_ think he's doing,' Du's voice was a mixture of genuine annoyance and childish frustration, 'I thought he was going to make sure _our_ plan succeeded, not create an army of his own.'

'What do you expect from someone who could compete with me on the evil scale,' Ni smirked.

Du glared at him, gritted his teeth and growled. Ni laughed, clearly enjoying the reaction he was creating in his uncle.

'And here I always thought you were the better strategist, but I guess it's just pure luck which keeps you one step ahead of my father,' Ni folded his arms. 'This Win Mokuba is being incredibly clever right now or haven't you been paying attention to the members of this so called army of his.'

'I've been paying attention,' Du's voice was dry, 'I've been doing nothing _but_ paying attention since the moment that brat had the gall to present himself to us.'

'You don't like him very much, do you uncle?' Ni's voice dripped with amusement. 'Shame really, because the kid's really starting to grow on me.'

'Fancy that, someone the God of Evil would be willing to bow down and worship.'

'I wouldn't go that far,' Ni's gaze narrowed on him. 'But I would more than happily rule alongside him in a new order. An order where the Wen have actual power over the multiverse and not the token gestures our mothers have handed out to us. Correct me if I'm wrong, but that is the ultimate goal here, isn't it?'

'If we're sharing equally then it is,' Du folded his arms, 'but I'm not sure I trust you or him enough for that.'

'Well then, I guess the only thing we can do now is watch and wait and see just what future _Win Mokuba_ has in store.'

* * *

There was something about marching along with his army of six which made him feel stronger and more determined to succeed than at any other moment so far. This was all happening as a result of good planning on his part. Okay maybe he hadn't had the months to prepare the brats had, but that didn't mean his plan wasn't as good as theirs, if not better. The only thing he had to do now was prove it.

As they reached the gates the gold cuffs on their wrists began to glow. One by one they lifted their right arms up into the air causing seven half wolf, half human creatures to appear in front of them. A shimmer of light passed over the creatures as they let out a deep throated growl.

'Poor little Crovell, all your planning's gone to waste,' a dark grin spread across his face, 'because in one little move I've just rendered your strategy completely useless. I hope you're afraid right now, because if you're not you soon will be.'

* * *

'How are you feeling?' Mai glanced towards Ahna as they made their way along the corridor.

'A part of me feels like I should be asking you that,' Ahna sighed a shook her head. 'This situation is crazy; I've just left my child in the arms of his future self in order to hunt down a pack of wolves, who should be attacking us.' A bemused sounding laugh echoed out of her. 'So business like usual then.'

'I know what you mean,' Mai smirked, 'life just seems to be one crazy event after another. I can't help but ask myself, what's next.'

'Mai did you…' Ahna hesitated.

'Did I what?' Mai frowned her her.

'It doesn't matter.'

'But…?'

Before she could say anything else a figure appeared in the shadows of the corridor ahead of them. There was a shuffling behind them which made them turn to see a second dark figure. In the gloom of the corridor it was difficult to make out who either of them were and Mai could feel her heart pounding hard in her chest.

'Get the feeling we're the hunted?' Mai activated her dueldisk.

'Which one do you want?' Ahna smirked as she activated her own.

'I'll take the one behind us, if that's okay?'

'Fine by me, let's do this thing.'

Mai drew the top card from her deck and played it without looking. She may not have used her aroma strategy since Duellist Kingdom, but some of her favourite cards still had a faint sent on them. In cloud of white light a beautiful Harpy Lady appeared before her.

'Harpy Lady I order you to attack.'

Her monster barely had the chance to leap forward when long black vine-like shapes emerged from the shadows and engulfed her.

'What the…?'

Her eyes lifted towards the object gleaming in front of her opponent. A trap card. There was a darkly amused half laugh as a glint of light reflected of a blade shaped duel disk.

'Ahna I don't think it's the wolves we're dealing with here,' she felt her back press against her companions.

'Agreed,' Ahna's voice was as tense as Mai felt.

'Who are you?' Mai focused her attention on her shadowy opponent. 'And what are you doing here?'

As if in response she saw a shimmer of light pass over her opponent's dueldisk, as they threw down a monster card. Almost as soon as they had a large half wolf, half human like creature appeared before her.

'Okay Ahna, I change my mind,' Mai swallowed hard, 'it is the wolves we're dealing with here, there's just something or someone else controlling them.'

'What do we do?'

'What else can we do? We duel.'

'A girl who talks my language,' Ahna's laugh sounded more nervous than cocky, 'I think I can handle that.'

Mai drew five more cards from her deck and studied the wolf-like monster in front of her. She couldn't see its attack or defence points, although from its stance she was fairly sure it was in attack mode. Her eyes scanned across her hand, given what little knowledge she had of the situation at hand the most sensible card for her to play was...

'Cyber Harpy attack his wolf,' the words were out of her mouth as soon as her monster appeared on the field in front of her.

Doing as she was instructed the Cyber Harpy bounded forward, but as her talons met the wolf's flesh they past right through him, as though he wasn't even there.

'Care to try again Mai?' A dull voice taunted her. 'Or do you want to get yourself a real monster first?'

'Real monster?'

'Holograms can't hurt people Mai and my monster is no hologram, therefore Cyber Harpy's attacks are useless.'

'Who… who are you?'

The figure took a step forward and she couldn't help but gasp in surprise as she saw who it was.

'I don't understand... how is this possible... how is it you?' Mai shook her head. 'How...?'

* * *

Every now and then there was a bright glint from the gold cuff bracelet they both wore, but apart from that they were invisible to those on the ground below. It was a good position to be in, a perfect vantage point for their little waiting game. A small smile crossed her face, as the murmured sound of voices drifted through the air towards them. Pulling her hair back, she tied it up into a high ponytail and folding her arms.

'So they were foolish enough to leave the safety of the palace.'

'Didn't I tell you they would be?'

'So which one do you want?'

'Which one do you think?'

She gave a half laugh and nodded.

'Go ahead, she's all yours.'

Lifting their right arms, blade shaped dueldisks morphed out of their gold cuff bracelets. Smoothly they slotted decks into the card holders and each drew a card, throwing it immediately down onto the blade of their newly acquired dueldisks. They repeated this three more times and on the ground below them eight half wolf, half human like creatures appeared.

'That should be enough to entertain them for a while,' he smirked, 'and then it'll be our turn for some fun.'


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

Duke had no idea how Catilin could remain so calm in this situation. Even if you ignored what they were actually out here to do, where they were was eerie enough to make up for it. Shadowy, frost covered woods in the middle of winter should be enough to give anyone the creeps, yet Catilin was just frolicking along as though this were some kind of teddy bears' picnic.

'I wish you'd at least pretend we're hunting a pack of wolves who are probably sizing us up for meat as we speak,' Duke gave a heavy sigh as they came to a momentary stop. 'I know you don't see the world like everyone else does, but can you at least not be so cheerful when our lives are in mortal danger?'

'But the wolves aren't out here,' Catilin blinked up at him.

'How can you be so sure?'

'The way the air's moving,' she half closed her eyes, 'can't you feel it? It flitters about like it's full of butterflies because it's unafraid.'

'Well good for the air,' Duke rolled his eyes, 'but last I checked the air didn't _need_ to be afraid of a pack of wolves. We're not air, we're human. Well I'm human,' he smirked, 'I'm pretty sure you're a cute alien of some kind.'

'You think I'm cute?' A huge grin spread across Catilin's face.

'For an alien,' he lowered his head in amusement.

'I'm not an alien silly,' she laughed, 'but I like that you think I'm cute. It means you like me, right?'

'It means I think you're cute, why does it have to be anything more than that?' Duke shrugged.

'Because I'd like it better if you liked me,' she shifted her gaze away, 'because I like you.'

Duke was about to continue flirting with her when the evergreen bushes in the forest around them began to rustle. He found himself moving protectively closer to Catilin as one of the bushes let out a deep, rumbling growl.

'I thought you said the wolves weren't out here?' Duke swallowed hard.

'There not, I mean...' Catilin shook her head, 'the air's telling me they're not there.'

'Well I hate to tell you Cat, but I think the air is lying to you,' he activated his dueldisk as a pack of eight half human, half wolf creatures melted out of the shadows. 'Are you ready for this?'

'Ah, you mean we have to fight them?' Catilin hesitantly activated her own dueldisk.

'Well we could ask them to dance, but I don't think they'd be very responsive to that idea, do you?'

'But... what if we hurt them?'

'Right now I'm more worried about them hurting us.'

Duke drew the top card from his deck, checked it, then threw it down onto his dueldisk. He was glad to see next to him Catilin had done the same, allowing the Strike Ninja and the Battle Ox to appear in front of their respective owners.

'What now?' Catilin glanced towards him.

'Now we attack.'

'Right and how do we do that?'

'You have seen duels before, haven't you?'

'Uh-uh,' Catilin shook her head, 'the evil me has seen them, but I was kinda asleep. It's like I remember, but I don't remember.'

'Just tell your monster to attack, okay?'

'Okay,' she took a deep breath, before letting out a short, sharp sigh, 'Battle Ox attack.'

Almost instantly, her monster leapt forward, swinging its circular axe at one of the wolves. As it did, a kunai with a chain attached flew through the air, wrapping itself around her monster. The wolf, who would have born the brunt of her monster's attack, then bounded forward, swiping at her beast and destroying it instantly.

'What was that?' Catilin blinked.

'I think it was a trap card,' Duke shook his head as he watched his own monster fall prey to a similar fate.

'But... how?'

'You think I know?'

'I want you to know,' her voice bleated like a little girl's. 'Duke, what do we do?'

'What else can we do?' Duke sighed. 'We try this again.'

* * *

'Do the ropes really have to be so tight?' Mokuba fidgeted against his binds. 'I'm a willing prisoner here, it's not like I'm going to try and escape.'

Duke glared at him, but said nothing.

'Any tighter and you're gonna cut off the circulation in my arms,' Mokuba sighed.

'Funny, I thought a body needed a heart in order to have a circulation.' Kaiba smirked.

'Please don't tell me you guys are going to insist on doing that now,' Mokuba lowered his gaze, 'don't you think you're torturing me enough?'

'That depends on what it is you think we're doing,' Tristan cocked an eyebrow at him.

'I think you're going to start joking about my lack of organs like its some cheep comedy sketch. I hardly think it's a joke.'

'I don't know, I find it very amusing myself,' Kaiba folded his arms. 'It's not as though we get a whole lot of entertainment around here and would you really deny these sweet little girls a little bit of joy?'

'You make it sound like you're giving me a choice.'

'Oh we are giving you a choice Mokuba,' Duke's eyes glinted darkly, 'of whether or not you want a gag.'

'What...?' Mokuba's eyes bulged with fear as he spotted the knife in Duke's hands. 'What are you doing?' His voice squeaked out of him as the chair was roughly slammed backwards, jarring his back in the process.

'I thought I'd finish what I started by permanently cutting off your air supply,' the expression of Duke's face was as wild as his voice. 'I've always wanted the opportunity to do this.

'No!' Mokuba's voice was as shrill as it was loud. 'Don't. Please. Let me go, let me go. You can't do this to me. I didn't do all those things. I didn't kill your son.'

'Then consider this a warning about not killing other people's children.'

'No! No! No! No!'

His whole body trembled with fear as the blade of Duke's knife moved closer and closer to his chest. In the background he could her one of the girls giggling manically. The sound of it only increased his fear, causing his voice to catch in his throat and make all sound completely and utterly impossible. As he felt the tip of the blade press hard against his stomach, he closed his eyes and prayed it wouldn't be as painful as he feared. But just as he braced himself for the horrific event, he felt his chair move sharply back into an upright position.

Trembling and unable to speak, he stared fearfully up at his tormentor. The look on Duke's face was hard to read, although there were definitely mixed messages of regret and disgust within it. A part of Mokuba couldn't help but wonder whether he'd pulled back by choice or not. As the silence continued around them, Duke indicated to the girls to follow him and the three of them swiftly left the room.

'I wonder why he stopped,' Kaiba frowned as he stared after them, 'that was just starting to get entertaining.'

'You... you wanted him to... to kill me?' Mokuba choked out the words.

'Oh come on you idiot, you're already dead,' his brother rolled his eyes, 'unless of course you think it's possible to consider yourself alive when you're missing at least half of your internal organs.'

'Seto,' Tristan's voice was tight.

'What?' Kaiba glanced towards him.

For a few long moments there was silence as the two of them just stared at each other. For a moment Mokuba just felt confused, then he noticed the subtle changes in their expressions and realised they were communicating telepathically. It made several strange feelings move through Mokuba's stomach as he couldn't help but wonder what the hell they were talking about. Something told him it was to do with him and fear made him believe whatever it was, was not a good thing.

'Fine I'll leave,' Kaiba broke the silence as he headed towards the door, 'but I wish you would tell me what this is about.'

'It's not for you or the others to worry about,' Tristan shook his head.

'Oh I get it, you want to torture him without any witnesses around,' Kaiba smirked as he glanced back towards him. 'You know that's no fun for the rest of us, right?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'I'm sure you don't.'

'Would you just leave already?' Tristan half glared at him.

'Whatever, just don't kill him will you, I'm the only one allowed to do that.'

'I know,' Tristan half lowered his gaze as Kaiba left the room.

'You're not…' Mokuba swallowed hard, 'you're not planning to torture me like my brother said, are you?'

'No Mokuba, I'm not planning to torture you. But your brother was right; I don't want any witnesses for this.'

'Wh-why not?' Mokuba's body trembled involuntarily.

'Because I don't want him to hear what I'm about to say,' he glanced up, revealing a strange, translucent, white glaze now covering his eyes.

'Tristan what's going on?'

'Mokuba I'm not Tristan.'

'What?'

'I'm not Tristan.'

'Then who are you?'

'I'm Body.'

'But…?'

'I told you before I needed you for something; I just had to get over my disgust of using you first. Well maybe I didn't say it like that exactly, but that's what I meant.'

'I... I don't understand.'

'Mokuba even if Jo and Crovell's plan succeeds and they do save Joey, it won't be enough.'

'Why not?'

'Because Joey's death wasn't the only problem. Light knows it didn't help but...' he paused. 'Unless someone sorts the real problem out Mokuba, none of this is going to change. Things will still go to hell. Maybe not in the same way, but they will.'

'What do you mean? I don't understand.'

'Oh don't worry, you will soon enough, I promise.'


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

'I'm not quite sure how I feel about this,' Jo peered down at the baby in Crovell's arms, 'a part of me feels like we should be the ones out there hunting down the wolves, but at the same time...'

'Do you really need to make our relationship any more complicated than it already is by developing maternal instincts towards me,' Crovell rolled his eyes.

'Not towards you, towards him,' she smiled down at the infant.

'He is me Jo,' he shook his head. 'Okay, so he's not exactly the me I am now and hopefully the me he grows up to be will be a different kind of me, but that doesn't make him any less me, understand. So stop grossing me out and place your maternal instincts elsewhere, would you sis?'

'Wow, you're getting really bent out of shape about this,' Jo couldn't help but smirk at him. 'What's the matter C, don't fancy developing an Oedipus complex?'

'Jo!'

'What, it's not as though they're around to hear us right now,' she shrugged.

'You don't know that for sure. The wolves are after me, remember? Or at least the baby me,' he glanced down at the child he was holding, 'that means sooner or later they're going to show up here. And that means...'

'We still have to watch what we say,' Jo rolled her eyes. 'Mum's already worked out I'm pregnant you know, if she actually stops to think about it she's going to realise there probably aren't a whole lot of candidates for the father.'

'Yeah, but I'm hoping she'll think its Kaiba's.'

'Ew, as if I'd go there.'

'As if you could,' Crovell smirked at her, 'you're not exactly his type. And besides at this point whatever conclusion she draws about your _condition_ will come off as just being plain wrong; you're only fifteen Jo.'

'I know.'

'So it doesn't matter who they think the father might be; he'll still be labelled a pervert.'

'And you'd rather that wasn't their opinion of you?' Jo cocked an eyebrow at him.

'What do you think,' he half turned away from her. 'So is everything in place for sorting out our Mokuba problem?'

'It is if they're keeping him where I think they're keeping in,' Jo tilted her head in thought. 'It won't be impossible to correct if I'm wrong, but... Well it'll all depend on how much time we have afterwards.'

'How complicated do you think it would be to correct if your calculations are off?'

'Are you asking me if I think your baby self will be able to handle it?'

'What do you think?'

'I think he'll be okay, provided they're still within the Southern Palace,' she pressed her lips together.

'I don't see any reason why they'd leave it,' Crovell shook his head.

'Nor do I. At least not with him, but...'

'But...?'

'We both know Duke's plans for _the end_.'

Her words caused a pained look to spread across Crovell's face. She knew he was trying really hard not to think about what the others were preparing to do, but she couldn't not point it out just for the sake of protecting his feelings.

'Just because...' Crovell hesitated. 'Kaiba and Tristan have no reason to leave the Southern Palace, so there's no reason to move Mokuba, right?'

'Right,' she nodded, 'so there shouldn't be anything too complicated for your infantile self to handle if we don't have the time to sort it afterwards. But...'

'But what?'

'This situation may take us beyond _the end_,' Jo shifted her gaze away, 'so...'

'We may have to do something to make sure he remains safe,' Crovell completed for her. 'I had been thinking about that. It's why I've been transmitting back to our little receptor.'

'You mean you're thinking about...?'

'Mm.'

'But that could...'

'I know, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. Besides it might be the best way of stopping the baby from becoming the monster,' Crovell pulled a face, 'that is ultimately what we want out of this situation, right?'

'Yes, but this method might...'

'I know, but it's also the only way to protect him from _the end_. Right now that should be our main concern, right?'

'If it causes problems they won't be too happy about it,' Jo narrowed her gaze on him, 'but you're right, it's the only form of protection we can offer right now. But... there's only one thing which will upset her enough to...'

'Please Jo,' Crovell cut her off, 'I'm trying really hard not to think about that.'

* * *

Ahna let out the breath she'd been holding and tried to tell herself there was some reasonable explanation for this situation. Because it didn't matter how many times she told herself her eyes were playing tricks on her or she was dreaming or... whatever, she knew it wasn't true. That meant this was really happening. And if this was really happening there had to be a reasonable explanation for it.

'This is some kind of joke, right Covo,' Ahna's voice sounded a hell of a lot calmer than she felt.

'Do I look like I'm joking around here?' Covo cocked an eyebrow at her. 'Because I feel like I'm being deadly serious.'

'So there really are wolves in your deck then?'

'Of course, they were unruly the way they were,' he smirked, 'they're much easier to control like this.'

'How could you? This is the same kind of monstrous torture which sent our people underground,' Ahna shook her head, 'our kind lived in ignorance for more generations than I can count because of this kind of treatment.'

'Oh please, don't tell me the Copycat duellist is lecturing me on the ethical treatment of other people,' Covo rolled his eyes. 'You told me all about your own past _sweet little Ahna_, remember?'

'I remember,' she gritted her teeth, 'I also remember thinking you were a good guy, what's gotten into you?'

'Does it really matter,' he met her gaze, 'it doesn't change what's happening here.'

'And what is happening here?'

'A duel, what else?'

'I'm not duelling you Covo, not when you're like this.'

'You act as though I'm giving you a choice, more fool you I guess.'

'What do we do?' Mai's back was suddenly pressed against Ahna's.

'I don't know,' Ahna glanced over her shoulder towards her, 'this is totally out of character for both of them and if that's not bad enough then the fact their monsters seem impervious to damage from ours is.'

'So what's it gonna be ladies,' Covo taunted before Mai had a chance to respond, 'are you gonna duel us or not?'

'You said yourself you're not giving us a choice here, right?' Ahna met his gaze.

'I'll take that as an agreement,' a dark smile pulled across his face as he slotted a card into his blade shaped dueldisk.

'Light to Shadows,' Ahna took a step back when she saw what it was, 'but… but…'

'I'm so glad you know what this means Ahna,' Covo laughed, 'because the stakes have been set and I'm after your soul.'

* * *

The lone wolf stalked his way through the maze of corridors. Where the rest of his pack had gone, he neither knew nor cared. The scent of his prey was everywhere and he would not rest until he'd found it. As he silently melted his way through the shadows, his pace increased and his excitement grew. The scent was really strong now. His prey was near. Soon, soon he would move in for the kill. Soon.

* * *

'Explain to me again why we're doing this?' Kaiba leant moodily against the wall and stared across the garden.

'Cuz we're nice guys,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'go figure.'

'Trust Wheeler to get himself messed up in something like this again. Somebody really ought to keep that dog on a leash.'

'Hey it's not like we haven't been caught up in our own fair share of trouble the past few years,' Tristan shrugged. 'Stuff like this just seems to be attracted to our group; it's probably why we are who we are.'

Kaiba was silent for a few moments and Tristan found himself studying him.

'Are you okay?'

'I'm fine,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'you were being almost philosophical.'

'Does that bother you?'

'No,' his voice was tight, 'it's just you haven't been philosophical since you left the hospital.'

Tristan allowed the statement to be met with another beat of silence; he wasn't exactly what Kaiba was trying to imply. The silence continued long after the beat had ended. A few times it looks as though Kaiba was about to say something else, but nothing was forthcoming. It didn't take long for things to change from uncertain to uncomfortable and then to awkward.

'You know it doesn't matter how long you stare at him with those puppy-dog eyes, the only person he's ever going to care about is himself,' the sound of his voice sent shivers running up Tristan's spine.

Slowly he turned to face the owner of the voice, unsure as to whether he should feel angry, afraid or something else entirely at his presence.

'Get out of my brother's body right now,' Kaiba took a step towards him, 'you have no right to use him like this.'

'Oh I have every right,' he folded his arms, 'see this is my body too. Okay, so I've traded in for a younger model, but what's mine is and will always be mine. Besides even if I do leave there's probably no one to come back into it now anyway.'

'Just what's that supposed to mean,' Kaiba gritted his teeth.

'I mean I chose the exact moment in time your future self was about to kill me in order to trade in for a little youth. It's not as though I was planning on going back there, so why leave an opening for a re-exchange?'

'You really are a monster,' Tristan glared at him, 'but Jo and Crovell already assured us he was still alive.'

'Faithful to them as always,' Mokuba shook his head, 'is there nothing they can say you won't eat up like faithful little lapdogs?'

'We're nobody's lapdogs,' Kaiba clenched his fists, 'and what would they gain by lying to us.'

'You're undying loyalty,' Mokuba's voice dripped with distaste, 'then again they'd probably have that anyway.'

Kaiba growled, but said nothing. Beside him Tristan felt himself tense; this wasn't exactly the battle he was expecting, not at this stage anyway.

'What do you want with us,' Tristan forced an end to the silence.

'Your undying loyalty,' Mokuba smirked, 'but I guess I'll settle for watching you to suffer. It's time to play.'


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

'Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run,' the words singsonged their way out of her as she watched their prey run.

'You know, that's almost cruel,' he folded his arms.

'Almost?' She smirked. 'I guess next time I'll have to try a little harder.

'You want to be cruel?'

'You don't?'

There were a few moments of silence.

'Do you think they've had enough yet?' His voice was level and unyielding.

'I think they could take a little bit more, but... I'm getting bored.'

'Then I guess it's time for us to have some fun.'

* * *

Duke's grip on Catilin's wrist tightened the further through the forest they ran. He felt as though his lungs were about to burst and his whole body was about to give up on him, but for Catilin's sake he kept moving forward. The wolves were constantly at their heels and there was no way they could stop or let up speed. Not if they wanted to live at any rate.

'The wolves are too fast,' Catilin's voice panted, 'we can't outrun them.'

'We've got to try.'

'We can't, it's impossible; I don't think I can go any further.'

'Don't say that.'

'Duke please; we need to hide, I can't keep running.'

'We have to, they're wolves, they would just find us no matter how well hidden we were.'

'We'll go up into the trees then, anything, please I can't keep going.'

Without warning someone appeared on the path ahead of them. Duke skidded to a stop, making sure Catilin did the same. In his chest he could feel his heart racing, but he was too much of a good guy not to warn the unknown person on the path ahead of them of the danger charging their way.

'You might wanna think about running, only there's a rather angry pack of wolves chasing us right now and I don't think they're too fussy.'

'I'm sure I'll be fine,' the figure slowly turned round, lowering the hood of the cloak she was wearing as she did, 'after all, I'm the one controlling them.'

'Nayta?' Catilin gasped.

'Surprised?'

'What's going on?' Duke tried to keep his cool. 'Why have you sent those wolves after us?'

'Because it's fun,' a familiar voice sounded to the right of them, making every hair on Duke's body stand on end.

'Oh no, please no,' Catilin closed her eyes.

'What's wrong kitty-Cat,' Jay emerged from the shadows, 'not pleased to see me?'

'No, no, no,' she placed her hands over her ears, 'this isn't happening, you can't be bad again.'

'You don't even know what I intend to do, yet you're already assuming it's gonna be bad,' Jay laughed, 'where's the justice in that?'

'I can sense it Jay,' her eyes stared up at him, 'I can sense you. But it's not you I'm sensing, it's something else. Something bad. Jay please... please don't do this. Jay don't be bad again, please.'

* * *

'This isn't going to be easy for me,' the skeletal Tristan's gaze met with Mokuba's, 'having to tell you something I haven't even told the others. I hate you. I hate you for what you turn into. I hate you for representing an innocence which doesn't exist anymore. And I hate you for hurting Seto just by being here. To know you're the only one who can use this information to save us sickens me, but the only way my existence can come to an end with a clear conscience is if I do this... if I tell you what I've been keeping from the others; the final piece of the puzzle to stop the multiverse from turning into crap.'

'I don't understand, why haven't you told the others about this?' Mokuba stared at him.

'Because it's not something any of them can help with,' Tristan shook his head, 'and it's not information which can be passed on second hand either. This has to go from one Win part to another or else... Else it's nothing more than Chinese whispers and we all know how useful those are.'

'I see,' Mokuba pressed his lips together, 'so that's why you have to swallow your revulsion at telling me then. Because you know I'm the only one you can tell.'

'It makes me wish Mai had hung around for a little longer,' Tristan folded his arms, 'but _they_ needed her and I wasn't going to argue; it would have brought too much attention to all this and that was the last thing I wanted.'

'But you've just said without this information things will still go to hell, so you must have had some kind of plan in place to get the information back one way or another,' Mokuba stared at him.

'Oh don't worry, I have a few plans in place to make sure the information gets to where it's needed, but... time is of the essence here and there's just no guarantee how long it would take for any of my plans to take root. This way I know I've got one guaranteed method of getting the information to where it needs to be.'

'And a guarantee always trumps an unreliable possibility, right?'

'Yeah, unfortunately in this case it does.'

'So are you going to tell me what all this is about then?' Mokuba met his gaze.

'You remember the rain, right?' Tristan's voice was dry. 'The rain which fell after the Reganna were shifted out of Catilin, Ahna and Jay's bodies?'

'Wait... what?' Mokuba blinked at him.

'Don't tell me you've forgotten already,' he turned his nose up in disgust. 'It's been over sixteen years and yet that whole incident is still imprinted on my brain.'

'I haven't forgotten; I just didn't expect you to mention it. I guess it took me by surprise,' he frowned. 'What about the rain?'

'Did you never wonder what it was? Why it fell like that? What happened to the darkness we all knew was inside of it?'

'Yeah, but...'

'It seeped into the land... into the people... into us. All three Mistresses were present. All parts of Win were there, ready and waiting. The darkness got into us. Infected us. And because of who we were it spread out of us like a disease infecting everyone and everything in its path. It didn't take long for the multiverse to lose its way after that. The darkness worked its way through it. Crumbling boundaries between Realms and Plains. Causing all out wars between realities. It was chaos and there was nothing any of us could do to stop it.'

'Because you were the cause of the infection...' a strange feeling of realisation moved through Mokuba.

'_We_ were the cause of the infection, or had you forgotten you're the biggest monster of us all,' Tristan glared at him. 'Then again I suppose it's convenient for you to forget you're infected too, since you're such a baby monster right now.'

'Tristan...'

'I told you, I'm Body right now. A Win part, talking to another Win part. A Win part who figure out a cure to all this far too late to do anything in his own timeline, so now I have to leave it in the hands of a wretched little monster.'

'I...'

'Oh just shut up and listen Mokuba, I don't need your commentary, I just need you to listen.'

* * *

Mai took a deep breath in and stared down at the cards in her hand. She had to come up with some kind of strategy and quickly or else Yugi's _real_ monster were going to wipe the floor with her holographic ones. Her heart pounded in her chest as she slotted several trap cards into her dueldisk. If attacking head on wasn't going to work for her, then maybe these would.

A laugh of dark amusement rippled out of Yugi. Mai lifted her gaze to meet with his and almost found her stomach churning over at the look on his face. This was not the Yugi she knew. This wasn't even close. This was some mannequin with Yugi's face on it some unseen puppet master was using for his own twisted little game. A game Mai would do everything in her power to win.

'I end my turn,' she kept her voice as calm as possible, 'so make your move.'


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

'I'm not duelling you,' Kaiba folded his arms.

'Who said I wanted to duel you?' Mokuba cocked an eyebrow.

'Err... well there's a dueldisk on your arm, which I'm pretty sure has a deck slotted into it,' Tristan returned Mokuba's look with a cocky one of his own. 'Although, last I checked you're wearing that thing on the wrong arm.'

'I'm only wearing it on the wrong arm as far as you're concern,' Mokuba smirked, 'but trust me this won't be the last time you see people wearing them this way.'

'Like I care,' Kaiba gritted his teeth. 'All I want is for you to get out of my brother's body, now.'

'I told you, this body belongs to me and I haven't had my fun with you yet.'

'So then you are planning to duel one of us,' Tristan took a defensive stance.

'No, my deck's not ready yet. I'm missing a few cards and I do hate to start a duel half cocked,' Mokuba's voice was strangely sly. 'However the two of you will be duelling.'

As he spoke two hooded figures appeared behind him. For a couple of tense moments Kaiba found himself staring them down, waiting to see what happened next. Then, simultaneously, they lowered their hoods to reveal a girl Kaiba had never seen before and...

'Hello cousin,' a cruel smile spread across SK's face, 'it's time to duel.'

SK and the girl both raised their right arms, turning the gold cuff bracelets they were wearing into dueldisks.

'Great, more morons who clearly don't know the first thing about duelling,' Kaiba rolled his eyes.

'What is with your insistence dueldisks should go on the left arm,' Mokuba's voice was sugary with amusement. 'Although when I said you'll see more people wearing them like this I didn't mean now. Now's just a taster of what's to come, provided you make it out of this duel that is.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

Without saying a word, Korin and SK slotted a card into their respective dueldisk. Kaiba then watched as the projection of this card lifted to reveal what it was.

'Light to Shadows,' Kaiba lowered his arms and shifted his gaze to meet with Mokuba's.

'That's right Seto,' an evil smile twitched at Mokuba's lips, 'I'm looking to add the Blue Eyes Knight to my deck.'

'That's not going to happen,' Kaiba balled his hands into fists, 'because I'm not duelling these morons. And even if I did, do you really think I would lose to them?'

'I think it would be interesting to find out,' Mokuba chuckled, 'and lucky for me _you_ don't have a choice in the matter. See the second those cards were slotted into place this duel began, which means the only way for you not to duel these two _morons_, as you so kindly put it, is to forfeit. And that's just fine by me, like I said I want the Blue Eyes Knight in my deck.'

'So that's how it is?' Kaiba's gaze narrowed.

'Naturally.'

'You'll take them easily Seto,' Tristan placed a hand on Kaiba's shoulder, filling him with a strange buzz of confidence. 'These two have no idea what they're doing and you're Seto _freaking_ Kaiba; there's only one duellist in the whole world better than you are. You'll beat them both before they have a chance to say _it's time to duel_.'

'Oh Tristan, since when were you so simple minded,' Mokuba smirked, 'last I checked there were two Shadow to Light cards activated. Two cards, two duels, four duellists, are you following this or do I need to use big, brightly coloured flashcards?'

'Don't you dare bring him into this, you fake,' Kaiba took an angry step towards him, 'I'm the only one who's going to be duelling here.'

'Oh how quickly we forget Seto; he has no choice, he has to duel now. You both do. Now activate your dueldisks and let's get the fun started already.'

Kaiba was about to protest, but Tristan held up a hand to stop him. He then activated the dueldisk Crovell had presented him with, before taking up a stance opposite the unknown girl. With little else he could do, Kaiba activated his own dueldisk and took up a position opposite SK. An anxious feeling moved through Kaiba's stomach; the only duel he'd ever known Tristan to be in had been was in Noah's virtual world against Nesbit and, if memory served him right, Tristan had lost. Okay, so maybe Kaiba hadn't seen the duel so it was impossible for him to know exactly what went wrong, but that didn't make him any less nervous.

'Okay let's duel,' Kaiba dramatically drew five cards into his hand, 'just wait, I'll finish you both off in no time.'

'Ah, but can you finish us off, before we finish Tristan off?' SK smirked.

'Please, give me a break; have you forgotten who I am?' Kaiba lowered his head slightly.

'My arrogant little cousin who has no right to share the same name as me,' SK licked his lips. 'I take it you have no trouble with me going first,' he drew a card without waiting for a reply. 'Well what do you know,' he cocked an eyebrow, 'I guess luck is on my side today. I play Banshee of the Gate,' he threw the card down onto his dueldisk.

The Banshee's wild white hair whirled around her as she let out a terrifying scream. With twenty-one hundred attack points she appeared to be a formidable foe, but Kaiba was a top rank duellist and he wasn't easily intimidated.

'Is that all you got,' he shook his head, 'I could make better moves in my sleep.'

'I play two cards face down,' SK ignored his comment, 'and end my turn.'

'It's about time,' Kaiba rolled his eyes. 'Draw,' he examined his hand; he had a few good cards, but nothing yet strong enough to beat his cousin's Banshee. 'I play one monster in defence mode, then end my turn.'

'Then I go,' the still unknown girl drew a card from her deck, 'I play Lady Panther in attack mode and end my turn.'

The move she'd made only proved how much of an amateur she was. It was enough to fill Kaiba with a momentary sense of confidence, before he realised it was now Tristan's turn. A duellist's opening move said a lot about them, he just had to hope whatever it was Tristan's said about him was better than Kaiba feared. For a few long and anxious minutes he watched as Tristan drew a card and examined his hand.

'Okay, I play Cyber Commander in defence mode, then lay two cards face down and end my turn.'

'Looks like its back to me,' SK grinned as he drew a card. 'And I think I'm going to begin by attacking your face down monster with my Banshee.'

Screaming again, the Banshee sent a torrent of air towards Kaiba's face down card.

'What the hell?' Kaiba's voice came out in a mixture of alarm and anger as he watched his life points drop.

'The special affect of my Banshee means you receive damage from my monster's attack, even when yours is in defence mode.'

'I should have known,' Kaiba gritted his teeth.

'Yes, you should have,' SK smirked, 'and you call yourself a top ranked duellist, it's no wonder Yugi keeps beating you. Well I think that's enough punishment for now. Your move.'

'Draw.'

* * *

In the end the duel had been almost too easy and a part of him couldn't help but wonder if she'd wanted to lose. With a strange and casual feeling of callousness he bent down and picked up her card; The Lady of the Seven Harpies. From the looks of its stats he knew it would prove much more of a challenge to an opponent than she did. The thought made him chuckle as he slipped the card into his deck and glanced towards the other duel.

It was still going on and looked too evenly matched to finish any time soon. A deep sense of boredom rippled through him as he turned and began making his way down the corridor. They were under orders to report in as soon as their matches were over and that's exactly what he intended to do.

* * *

Ahna stared down at her hand, before shifting her gaze to the top card in her deck. It was her turn and she was yet to draw. A slick amount of sweat covered the palms of her hands as she realised she was afraid. What if she didn't draw the card she needed or, worse still, what if she did. Her stomach churned over several times as her fingers gripped onto the top card and she hesitantly drew it into her hand.

'Sen Pay Flayer,' Ahna kept her voice as low as possible, 'you're not what I was after, but...'

Her eyes flicked up towards Covo. He was staring at her with that same emotionless look on his face. It didn't make him look twisted or evil; it just made him look like a stranger. A stranger fighting with dirty tactics and a deck full of real monsters. Ahna's gaze dropped back down to the card she was holding. The Sen Pay was a set of sixteen monster cards Re had given her to use during the tournament of D. Up until now Ahna had avoided using them because of Re's claims they were created from the souls of those killed in a bus crash. She didn't know if it was true or not, but if it was true then it made them real monsters just like Covo's Wolves.

A sudden shudder snapped along her spine as she debated whether or not to use this card or wait for the Shadowy World card to appear. After all, Shadowy World would actualise her monsters regardless, making Covo's Wolves a lot easier to take on. Unfortunately she couldn't guarantee drawing that card and as she was running out of options...

'Are you gonna make your move or not?' Covo impatiently interrupted her train of thoughts. 'Only I'm kinda hoping to be wrapping this duel up sometime this century.'

'Thank you for making my mind up for me,' Ahna lowered her head slightly as she placed her monster onto the dueldisk. 'Right now you're not acting like yourself and the only way to save you is to be just as bad as you are. So I'm playing my Sen Pay Flayer.'

In a swirl of lights a human-like monster whose torso, back and arms were littered with still bleeding scars appeared. His appearance was made all the more defiant by his fallen angel black wings and the pair of blood red martial arts styled trousers he was wearing.

'What is that?' Covo took half a step back.

'The turning tides of this battle,' Ahna hardened her jaw line, 'and it's not going to be pretty.'


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

Conversation between them had flipped back and forth several times and maybe that's why Crovell had been too distracted to notice something was going wrong in the world outside of the room they were in. A mistake he cursed himself for the second Jo's image began to flicker.

'Oh no,' Jo's eyes were wide as she stared at her own hand, 'something must have happened to Mai.'

'I can see that,' Crovell gritted his teeth, not sure if he should be angry or afraid, 'is there any way you can hold on?'

'I…' her voice died as her image began to fade.

'No,' he shook his head as angry tears burned in his eyes, 'no you can't do this to me. I won't let you leave me like this Jo.'

He could see her mouth moving, but she was so faint it was impossible to make out what she was saying.

'Stay with me Jo,' he could hear the begging tones in his own voice. 'You have to stay with me. Fight this crap and stay with me Jo. Don't leave me. I won't let you leave me! Jo!'

* * *

'Cat of Darkness,' she smirked as she stared at the card.

'How perfectly fitting,' he laughed as he swiped it off of her. 'Do you think _he_ would mind if I had a little play with it?'

'Depends on how perverted you're planning to be,' she shot him an amused look as she bent down and picked up the other card. 'Jack of Dice, now that's a new one.'

'Give it here and let me tear it, would you,' he snatched for the card, but she kept it away from him.

'I don't think _he'd_ be particularly happy if you did that,' her eyebrow cocked for a moment. 'What would you gain from tearing it anyway?'

'I'm thinking it would be a rather permanent end to a rival,' his face pulled with a sour expression. 'I hate this guy; what the hell does she see in him.'

She gave a deadpan, mocking rendition of a howl in reply forcing him to read between the lines of the serious expression on her face.

'She doesn't even know...'

'But she could,' she cut him off, 'we're talking about a Calicaccu here, they're not easily fooled. All she needs is one little hint in the right direction and...'

'Don't make me regret telling you,' he gritted his teeth.

'Oh don't worry; your secret is more than safe with me. But in all honesty my cocky little friend, you've just made him more attractive to her, not less. Lillyannu was in love with a Standing, wasn't she?' She smirked at him.

'Hmm.'

'Aw, don't act all upset, you're too good for her anyway,' she swaggered forward. 'Come on now; let's not keep our master waiting.'

* * *

Just as Ahna went to order the final attack she felt herself hesitating. She'd done this before, more times than she would care to count, but somehow this time was different. Because this time she really cared about the person she was attacking. The person who's soul she was about to trap inside a Duel Monsters card. Still, she knew she had to do what must be done and, with great reluctance, she gave the command. Then, with tear stricken eyes, she watched as her monster carried it out.

There was a strange smile on Covo's face as he fell to his knees.

'Covo,' she ran towards him, catching his body as it fell, 'why…?'

'I… I was recruited,' his nearly lifeless eyes met hers, 'I'm… I'm sorry, I… I had to. I'm just…'

He became limp and lifeless before he had a chance to finish his sentence. Soundlessly a card fell through the air and landed on the floor beside them. With her heart feeling as though it was torn in two, Ahna picked it up. For a moment she was too filled with grief to fully comprehend what was written on the card. But as the tears streamed down her cheeks, she found herself studying it closely. The more she studied it, the stronger the feeling of confusion which moved through her stomach.

'The Male Gemini...? But... Covo's a Sagittarus, this doesn't make any sense,' she shook her head. 'A person's monster card is supposed to have some relation to them. So how on earth can Covo be a Male Gemini, unless…'

* * *

Without so much as a flinch, SK watched as his second Banshee was destroyed; somehow during the course of the duel, his cousin had managed to summon one of his three Blue Eyes White Dragons to the field and was now using it to devastate Korin and SK's life points. Despite this, however, SK remained calm. After all, SK hadn't even reached the best cards in his deck yet and when he did things would turn themselves around very quickly.

'Oh would you look at that SK,' Korin glanced towards him, 'looks like I'm going to win that little bet of ours.'

A huge grin spread across her face as she threw her newly drawn monster card down onto her dueldisk. Almost instantly a half human, half wolf creature appeared in front of her.

'Well at least now we know what happened to the wolves,' Tristan took a step back as he visibly gritted his teeth, 'but why doesn't your monster have any attack or defence points?'

'It has them, you just can't see them,' her voice was almost singsongish.

'Why not?'

'It's one of the special abilities of all Veron monsters,' she gave an amused half laugh. 'Like good little puppy-dogs they show their loyalty to their master by hiding just how much worse their bite is to their bark. Until they attack that is,' she laughed. 'Speaking of which I think it's about time I use my new beast, Wolf of the First Order attack Tristan's Command Angel now.'

Bounding forward, the Wolf swiped at the Angel destroying it completely. A cruel and unashamed grin pulled at SK lips as he watched Tristan's already low life points deplete to zero.

'Tristan,' Kaiba's eyes were wide with disbelief as his team mate fell lifelessly to the ground.

In the heartbeat of silence which followed, a single duel monster card fluttered gently down through the air, landing silently beside Tristan's lifeless body.

'Well that's one down,' SK focused his gaze on his cousin, 'and one to go.'

'You'll pay for what you've done,' Kaiba's face filled with rage.

'Bring it on,' his tongue made an almost cocky pass across his lips, 'but since your little _boyfriend_ is no longer able to duel, it looks like it's my turn again. Draw.' A deep chuckle rolled out of him as he stared down at the card he'd just drawn. 'Oh this is going to be fun,' his gaze flicked back up towards his cousin. 'It's about time you paid for destroying my Banshee, so I'm going to summon this,' his own half wolf, half human creature appeared on the field, 'and then I'm going to play my Unlikely Ghost trap card.'

'I've never heard of that card before.'

'Want to know what it does? Because I'm just dying to tell you,' he smirked. 'See, my Unlikely Ghost trap card allows my newly summoned monster to attack you directly. Of course, it'll cost me a hundred life points in order to do so, but... I think I can spare them. Now my Wolf of the Seventh Order, attack my cousin directly.'

The Wolf did as it was instructed and half of Kaiba's remaining life points disappeared.

'Well that was a mistake,' his cousin arrogantly lowered his head.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, thanks to your little card, I now know the attack strength of your monster. So much for its special ability.'

SK rolled his eyes and lay two cards face down on the field.

'Whatever, cousin, it's your move.'

'Draw.' Kaiba briefly glanced at the card he was holding, before placing it with the others in his hand. 'Well, since I know your Wolf is weaker than my Blue Eyes, I think I'll attack you with it and finish off the rest of your life points. Then we'll see how _you_ like becoming a monster card.'

'Go ahead,' SK gave an unconcerned shrug, 'see where it gets you.'

'Fine. Blue Eyes White Dragon attack his Wolf of the Seventh Order and finish him off.'

Tilting its head back, a ball of white light formed in front of the dragon's mouth. Lowering it again, he sent a burst stream across the field towards the Wolf, hitting it dead on. But as the dust settled, SK's Wolf was still standing and his life points were intact.

'What the…?'

'My Wolf is no ordinary monster, cousin. It was formed from a real person, meaning that it is a _real_ monster, not just a hologram. Your pretty little light show can't hurt it.'

'If that's the case, then surely the reverse is also true, so how did…?' Kaiba glanced towards Tristan's unconscious body.

'Another special ability of all Veron monsters,' he smirked. 'A split second before they attack, they adopt all the characteristics of the opposing monster, including holographic ones. So you see cousin, we can attack you, but you're completely unable to attack us.'

'Don't be so sure about that,' Kaiba's jaw line hardened, 'not even the Egyptian God cards are without weakness and it's only a matter of time till I find the weakness of yours.'


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

With a strange sense of undignified anger running through her, Ahna activated her dueldisk and slammed Covo's card down on it. He appeared in a beautiful array of lights, dressed like some Grecian god in a pale green tunic.

'Alright Covo explain.'

'Explain what?' He blinked at her.

'Gemini, Covo, you're a twin.'

'I... I don't know what you're talking about,' he gave a nervous cough.

'Covo, your star sign is Sagittarius and your Standing name was Ted Madison. Now, unless you've been lying to me about one or the other, the only explanation I have for your card's name is that you're a twin.'

'My cards name?' Covo frowned at her.

'Yes Covo, your cards name,' she glared at him, 'you're the Male Gemini.'

'Well I guess that explains the dress,' a sheepish look pulled across his face.

'Covo, why the hell have you been hiding the fact you're a twin from me?'

'Because that's what Covos have always done,' he turned away from her, 'even before the Covo house existed.'

'What, I don't understand,' Ahna shook her head.

'Ahna do you know what Odraians do with twins when they're born?' Covo's body tensed. 'They separate them. You see twins who can wield Elemental magic also have other... special qualities. Qualities known and Sensory and Interpretive. Each twin in the pair will only have one of these qualities, because they're meant to be used together. Back when the Odraian people were unruly, twins were used as a way of gaining influence and control, so when the Two Lovers became gods and the Tenth Order was officially established, a law came in to separate twins in an attempt to maintain peace. It was a tradition started through necessity, but... one which should have become obsolete generations before the Silkoneon people came into being.'

'But it didn't?'

'Families for whom having twins was a complete and utter surprise had no problem giving one of the kids away. They brought into the idea it was a sacred tradition and didn't realise it had come from such fear driven roots. But all twin descendents of twins knew the truth. It's why hiding them became common practice and why names like Covo, which means twice blessed, and Deotec, the word for second, became standard Pre-Rite of Passage names.'

'But I thought Covo and Deotec were commonly given to a family's second child.'

'Exactly, it's why nobody batted an eyelid. Generations of my family line, even before we became Silkoneons, hid just how commonly we have twins. How commonly we still have twins.'

'But I don't understand,' Ahna shook her head, 'I didn't think Silkoneons _had_ twins.'

'That's because all first generation Silkoneon twins were so afraid they would receive the same treatment they had under Odraian rule they just kept the information to themselves. Everyone was too afraid to raise the issue, so... it just became family secrets. The Covo line is the only one who knows the identity of all other twins, because we're the only line who has a set of twins in every generation. Always fraternal, one boy, one girl and always passed down through the female line.'

'Well I guess Korin Covo does have a nice ring to it,' a sad smile pulled at her lips, 'I just wish you'd trusted me enough to tell me all this.'

'I know,' a shameful look filled Covo's face, 'and I was going to eventually, it's just... Covos always protect twins and that includes their own.'

'I understand,' she sighed. 'But I guess now we have to talk about the whole, you attacking me business,' she shifted her gaze away, 'just what the hell was that all about.'

'Would you believe me if I said I was being controlled?'

'Well duh, I'd appreciate you giving me a little bit of credit here.'

'Sorry.'

'Don't apologise Covo, just tell me who was controlling you.'

'Okay... I'm not sure if you're going to believe this or not, but... I think it was Mokuba. I mean, I'm pretty sure it was him. He got Yugi to free us from our cages and then put those things on us,' Covo pointed towards the gold cuff bracelet on the wrist of his unconscious body.

'Do you think that's how he was controlling you?'

'I'm not sure,' he pulled a face. 'All I know is that after it went on I stopped feeling like myself and started feeling like…' he shook his head, 'it's hard to explain.'

'I think I understand,' Ahna pressed her lips together and tried not to think of her experience with Gan. 'But Covo I need to know, how come both you and Yugi had the Light to Shadows card?'

'Mokuba duplicated it somehow.'

'And the Wolves in your deck?'

'They were his doing too.'

'Just as I thought,' Ahna half turned away from him. 'So was I supposed to be an addition to your deck?'

'No, Mokuba wanted you.'

'And Mai?'

Covo nodded.

'Then that's exactly what he's going to get.'

'Huh?'

Without responding to him, she used her glamour technique in order to transform herself into an exact duplicate of his unconscious body. Back when she'd been the Copycat duellist one of her trademarks was a refusal to gain an inch on her five foot two stature, no matter how tall the person she was mimicking was. But she wasn't the Copycat duellist anymore and the extra five inches would be necessary for her deception. She then removed Covo's card from her dueldisk and he disappeared. Passing her hand slowly over the card she changed its appearance from the Male Gemini to the Lioness Knightess. She then knelt down beside his unconscious body and, placing a hand on his arm, changing his appearance into hers.

'I don't know what game you think you're playing Mokuba,' she hardened her jaw as she rose to her feet, 'but you will not get away with what you've done to Covo and the others and, most of all, you will not get away with trying to kill my son.'

* * *

What they'd believed to be their monsters greatest strength turned out to be their greatest weakness. It was enough to make Kaiba almost pity them as he watched the second of their soul cards fall silently to the ground.

'Well done Seto,' Mokuba began to clap in a loud, sarcastic way. 'You know, I really believed you were done for, but I guess I should know by now not to underestimate you. Oh well,' he shrugged, 'at least I won't be walking away empty handed.' As he spoke three cards appeared in his right hand. 'You know what though,' he smirked as he stared down at them, 'I only have room in my deck for two of these. Here,' with his left hand he flicked one of the cards through the air towards him, 'consider it a gift,' he turned and walked away.

'Don't think I'm done with you yet, you fake,' Kaiba took a step towards him.

Mokuba made no response; instead he just laughed and disappeared into nothingness.

'Bastard,' Kaiba gritted his teeth before staring down at the card in his hand. 'Ah... Tristan,' for a moment he wasn't sure how to feel, then a strong wave of anger hit him. 'That bastard, he's done this on purpose.'

Remembering something Joey had done during the time he'd been the Blue Eyes Knight, Kaiba reactivated his dueldisk and summoned the Sharpshooter. In a swirl of light Tristan appeared before him. He was dressed in combat style trousers, boots and vest top with a gun strapped to his back. His exposed arms were littered with still healing scars and, with an almost automatic motion, Tristan swept them protectively in towards himself.

'Given all the time and effort I put into keeping my arms covered Seto...'

'I didn't design your card,' Kaiba cut him off, 'your soul did. Besides, the scars aren't on the cards image.'

'Great, just great,' Tristan crouched down in front of his unconscious body and studied it for a few moments. 'Get the feeling I'm making a habit out of this?'

'You're not dead.'

'I know, that's not what I meant though,' he tilted his head to one side, 'a person shouldn't be able to stand over their own body more than once in a lifetime.'

'Whatever,' Kaiba averted his gaze, 'you're not dead and that's all that matters.'

'Is it?' Tristan's gaze lifted to meet with his.

There were a few long moments of silence, broken only when Tristan gave a heavy sigh of disgust and pulled himself back up to full height.

'So what do we do now?'

'_We_ do nothing,' Kaiba folded his arms, 'you're nothing more than a card right now.'

'A card you can use in your deck,' Tristan made his way towards him. 'We're in this together Seto.'

'Only if I chose to put you into my deck,' Kaiba turned away from him.

'And why wouldn't you?'

'Because you're not a duel monster.'

'Funny, I sure as hell feel like one right now,' Tristan smirked. 'Come on Seto, you and I both know I could really help you out here. So put me in your deck.'

'But...'

'I'm not giving you a choice here. Put me in your deck.'

'Fine,' Kaiba reached towards the card, 'but just because you're in my deck doesn't mean I have to play you.'

'Yeah, but I know you will,' Tristan lowered his head smugly as his image disappeared.

Kaiba found himself staring at the card for a moment, before shuffling it into his deck. He then turned his attention towards Tristan's body. The corridor they were in was partially exposed to the garden and way too cold to leave someone unconscious. Without thinking about it, Kaiba picked Tristan's unconscious body up and headed towards the nearest door. It opened into the larder which then led into the kitchen. This felt as good a place as any to leave him, so Kaiba quickly lowered him into the far corner and made to walk away.

As he did though, he found himself hesitating. The larder might have been a whole lot warmer than the corridor, but the whole palace was still pretty chilly. An unconscious body had no way of producing its own heat, especially one with no soul in it to tell it when it was feeling the cold. After debating with himself for a few long minutes, Kaiba pulled off his sleeveless white trench coat and draped it round Tristan. He felt strangely weird and embarrassed doing it, but somehow he felt much happier for it.

Secure now in his own mind he'd done the right thing, Kaiba turned and walked away.


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

For a long time Crovell stared into the spot his sister had formally occupied. This couldn't be happening. She couldn't just be gone. They were supposed to exist outside of the multiverse. Things like this weren't supposed to happen to them. They were supposed to defy everything. So why... why was he alone now? Why was he alone and still able to remember her? If she was gone forever then he wouldn't remember her, right? So there had to be a way for her to come back. For him to get her back. There had to be.

In his arms the baby started to cry, loudly. At first he just found it a source of mild annoyance in the face of his much more pressing problems, then the sound of a deep throated growl reached his ears and everything in him froze.

'D-d-d-dad,' the word stammered out of him as he forced himself to turn round and face the monster.

The beast itself was huge and, with the exception of its size, closer to being a wolf than a man. Its yellow eyes glinted with a threatening kind of hunger, as another growl rippled out of its body.

'I know why you're here,' Crovell found himself taking a protective step back, 'but I'm telling you now it's a bad idea.'

The beast's lips curled into a cruel smile and it stalked forward at the same pace Crovell began edging backwards. His eyes desperately flicked around the room, looking for somewhere safe to place his infantile self so he could activate his dueldisk and save his father. There was nowhere. For half a second Crovell's body filled with stubborn pride; he was a Lutoni, a wolf; wolves didn't run from anything, so why should he run from this? Then the beast leapt at him and automatically Crovell jumped himself and the child to safety.

He barely had time to breathe, when Kaiba stormed down the corridor towards him. The look on his face and the lack of Tristan's company suggested something pretty major had happened.

'Let me guess, you had a run in with the devil with no heart.'

'If by that you mean the fake posing as Mokuba, then you're not wrong,' Kaiba indicated Crovell should join him.

'So what did the wretched little monster do now?' Crovell fell into step beside him.

Kaiba said nothing. Instead he pulled a card out of his deck and held it up for Crovell to see.

'The Sharpshooter,' Crovell pulled a face, 'you know I genuinely never thought I'd see that card again.'

'Again?' Kaiba gritted his teeth. 'Just how many times in your future does Tristan actually lose?'

'Just the once, early on in the war against the Game Master,' Crovell shifted his gaze away, 'you were so angry you wouldn't let anyone else rescue him. And then once you had you trained Tristan up yourself, said he wasn't allowed to lose again, not ever. It's one of the few things you did which makes us sure you care about him,' a slim smile pulled at his lips, 'not that you'd ever admit it of course.'

'Whatever,' Kaiba's voice was strangely gruff, 'what can you tell me about those gold dueldisks he and the others were wearing?'

'Others?'

'SK and some brown haired girl,' Kaiba shrugged as he shuffled the Sharpshooter back into his deck. 'I think the Mokuba fake was using it to control them somehow.'

'Well you'd be right there,' he gave a heavy sigh, 'the gold cuffs are Reama Tech, created and controlled by the master device.'

'By master device I take it you're referring to the one Mokuba was wearing.'

'Of course,' Crovell nodded, 'it was how the Game Master in our time was able to gain so much control so quickly. It was a war we almost lost and one I'm hoping won't happen when we fix things.'

'You mean _if_ you fix things, right?' Kaiba cocked an eyebrow at him.

'You don't have faith in my abilities to do this?'

'Right now the only thing I have faith in is my ability to beat that imposter and trap his soul in a card.'

'Spoken like the Kaiba I know,' Crovell smirked, 'so what do you say to a little monster hunting?'

* * *

'Aw poor puppy, did your prey get away?' Mokuba taunted as he approached the beast. 'I bet you're still so hungry for it, aren't you? Well don't worry my furry friend, I can help you,' he smirked. 'You just need to stick with me and I promise you'll have your kill.'

* * *

Ahna's heart pounded hard in her chest as she spotted them coming towards her. She could tell by the gold cuff bracelets they were both wearing, they too were working for Mokuba. Her insides squirmed as she prayed with everything in her they wouldn't see through her glamour.

'Covo,' Jay grinned at him, 'I take it you have your card.'

Trying to look more confident than she felt, she held the glamoured card up for them to see.

'Snap,' Jay held up one of his own.

'Why not make it three for three whilst we're here,' Nayta smirked as she revealed a third. 'And from the looks of Mai,' her eyes turned towards the bodies visible in the corridor behind Ahna, 'I'd say that made four. Lord Mokuba will be pleased. Speaking of which we have cards to deliver to him, those were our orders after all'

'Of course,' Ahna nodded.

'Oh come on Covo, don't you let me down,' Jay hooked his arm around Ahna's neck, 'surely you want to have a little fun too.'

'Fun?' Ahna frowned at him. 'What kind of fun?'

'The perverted kind if Jay gets his way,' Nayta rolled her eyes.

'Perverted kind?'

'What can I say, the thought of having my little kitty Cat under my control thrills me,' Jay laughed, 'don't tell me you've not had those same thoughts about Ahna.'

'Evil doesn't turn everyone into a giant pervert you know,' Nayta narrowed her gaze on Jay. 'Some of us can show a little more restraint.'

'Some of us seem to prefer torturing people,' Jay returned her look, 'or was your enjoyment of their suffering all in my head.'

'What can I say, evil makes me deliciously cruel,' she struck a dramatic pose, 'it's a gift.'

'So Covo, which category do you fall into?' Jay turned towards Ahna. 'Cruelty or perversion?'

'Isn't there another option?' Ahna tried to play it cool.

'Yeah,' he laughed, 'you could be both. So what do you say, you wanna have a little fun or not?'

'I'd rather deliver these cards like we were supposed to.'

'Well aren't you two a whole barrel of fun,' Jay rolled his eyes.

'Fun comes after we've done as we're told,' Nayta folded her arms, 'and who knows, maybe Lord Mokuba will let us play after he's done with them.'

'You think so?' Jay grinned.

'I hope so,' her eyes glinted darkly, 'because, no matter what he has in store for them, there's always room for a little more suffering.'

'And a lot more perversion.'

The two of them started laughing and Ahna forced herself to join in. The nature and tone of their conversation left her unsettled. There were elements of Jay's personality like this which reminded her a little of Na, or at least parts of Na. As for Nayta... if she didn't know better she'd have thought she was in the early stages of becoming Re. Ahna shuddered and pushed the thought away; the Reganna were long gone and there was just no way they were coming back.

'So are we going to Mokuba then or not,' Ahna tried to sound the exact right level of impatient.

'Of course Covo,' Jay's face filled with a shark like grin, 'lead the way.'

* * *

'Well isn't this a turn up for the books,' he smirked as he immerged from the shadows.

'Yugi,' Kaiba narrowed his gaze on him, 'weren't you supposed to be looking for my brother or something?'

'I was,' Yugi tilted his head to one side, 'and I found him too or rather... he found me.'

'You're one of them, aren't you?' Crovell took a step back. 'Careful Kaiba he...'

'Yeah, I had managed to figure that out for myself,' Kaiba gritted his teeth.

'I saw your victory over the other two and thought I'd try my luck,' Yugi lifted up his right arm to reveal a gold cuff bracelet, which almost instantly morphed into a blade shaped dueldisk, 'I am the King of Games after all.'

'You know I can understand someone as weak minded as SK falling victim to Reama Tech, but you Yugi,' Kaiba shook his head, 'I expected more from you.'

'Why? Because I'm a goody-goody, or because I'm the host to the Face of Friendship?'

'Both actually,' Kaiba met and held his gaze. 'Then again I guess I always suspected the Face of Friendship was the weak link.'

'What did you say?' Yugi's eyes flared with anger.

'I said I always knew the Face of Friendship was the weak link and you've just gone and proven me right.'

'I'm going to make you regret saying that,' Yugi dramatically slotted his deck into his dueldisk. 'It's time to duel.'

'I'm not duelling you Yugi,' Kaiba shook his head.

'Oh come on,' he taunted, 'isn't this the rematch you've been waiting for?'

'Not like this it isn't,' he met his gaze, 'you're not even worth my time right now.'

'You're afraid, aren't you,' Yugi laughed. 'You're frightened the Passive Mistress might actually get one up on you.'

'This has nothing to do with her and everything to do with the way you're acting right now,' Kaiba folded his arms. 'What I desire is a rematch against the King of Games, not some puppet parading round in his body. So like I said, you're not worth my time right now.'

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' Yugi slotted the Light to Shadows card into his dueldisk, 'because it's not like I'm giving you a choice.'


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

Lilac had never seen her sister cry. Even on the day of their parents' funeral, Hazelnut hadn't shed a single tear. She'd never been able to understand how her sister kept it all inside when the air around her was always so sad. Sighing heavily, she stared back down at the gravestones in front of them.

'Mum was pretty, wasn't she?'

'Very.'

'And she loved dad, right? More than anything in the whole world except for us, right?'

'Of course.'

'Then why is she always so ugly in my visions?' Lilac felt her lower lip start to wobble. 'Why did she kill dad?'

'She didn't,' Hazelnut's voice was flat and hard, 'that wasn't her.'

'Why did Jo do it,' she dropped to her knees, 'why did she bring her back?'

'Because you were too little to understand she was dead. You cried and cried and cried until none of us could take it anymore. She did it to shut you up. We let her do it to shut you up.'

'But the monster which wasn't Mum killed Dad,' tears began to roll down Lilac's face. 'If Jo hadn't have brought her back then Dad would still be alive, wouldn't he?'

'I don't know, maybe, but it's too late to dwell on things like that now.'

'It's always too late, why can't it be early for something for once?'

'Because everything is dying Ly,' Hazelnut's voice was devoid of emotion.

For a moment there was silence, then Hazelnut placed a hand on Lilac's shoulder.

'You should go home and put that pretty dress of yours on.'

'But uncle Duke hasn't come back for us yet.'

'I know, but he's not coming back. So you go home and put your pretty dress on, okay?'

'But why?' Lilac stared at her in confusion. 'The pretty dress is only for special occasions and there's nothing special about uncle Duke not coming back. Uncle Duke not coming back is a bad thing. Why would you want me to dress up for something bad?'

'You know why Ly, you know this is the end.'

'No, no don't say that,' she shook her head. 'This is because we let the baby monster stay with us, isn't it? The air's been so sad since he showed up; it's made all of you sad too. It's his fault, isn't it? It's all his fault.'

'No, Ly that isn't it...'

'Don't lie to me,' she shrugged off her sister's grip on her shoulders. 'Don't lie to me; you're only thinking it's the end because of him.'

'Ly...'

'No, no,' she pressed her hands over her ears as she got to her feet, 'I don't want to hear it. I don't want you to lie to me. This can't be the end. It doesn't feel like the end so it can't be the end. This is all the baby monster's doing. It is. It has to be.'

Hazelnut tried to pull her arms back down from her ears, but Lilac wasn't having any of it. Instead she took off running in the direction of the Southern Palace. She didn't care what Hazelnut said, she knew this was all the baby monster's fault and for that he had to be punished.

* * *

Body had barely finished explaining his plan to Mokuba when Kaiba had returned. It was not a welcome thing; not for Mokuba at any rate as his brother was now taking great pleasure in describing every detail of Duke's revenge. It appeared the grieving father had taken pride relishing in the details of his vicious assault on Mokuba's evil future self and his brother had eagerly lapped up every single moment of it.

'The best part is when he threw your heart into a vat of concrete,' a huge grin stretched across Kaiba's skeletal face, 'we were there to witness that.'

'You were,' Mokuba swallowed hard.

'Hey, who do you think provided the concrete?'

'I think I'm going to be sick,' Mokuba turned his head in disgust.

'You can't throw up; you have no stomach, remember?' Kaiba laughed.

'How are you getting so much pleasure out of this?'

'It's an entertaining story Mokuba.'

'Since when did you care about entertaining stories?' Mokuba half glared up at him.

'Nobody duels anymore; I have to amuse myself somehow.'

'Well if you're so keen on storytelling, then how about you tell me how everyone else died?' Mokuba lowered his gaze. 'I want to know how many I'm responsible for.'

'And just what would you have to gain from that?' Kaiba's bony fingers gripped into Mokuba's hair, pulling his head back.

'I... I just want to understand how things became like this. I want to know where things went wrong.'

'Fine,' he let go of Mokuba's hair, turned his head and folded his arms. 'Joey was the first, killed in self-defence by Crovell sixteen years ago, but I'm pretty sure we've already told you about that. Ahna was the next, back when the trouble first started creeping into our reality, Lilac was barely four... far too young to understand what had happened.'

'What had happened?'

'A demon, not native to this reality, took advantage of the destabilising boundaries and went on a rampage across Sil. It took a lot to take it down and the damage left in its wake was almost unbelievable.'

'Lilac cried a lot,' Tristan's voice was strangely wistful. 'The kids had all been moved to ours whilst they were trying to deal with the demon. After all, it was Sil it was attacking and not Earth. She cried and cried and cried until I just wanted to strangle her to get her to shut up.'

'That's why Jo brought her back.'

'Jo brought who back?' Mokuba frowned.

'Ahna. Lilac is the reason Jo brought Ahna back.'

'Jo has the power to raise the dead?' Mokuba almost choked on the words.

'For all the good that ever did anyone,' Tristan rolled his eyes, 'I'm not sure I can count the number of people those zombies of hers killed.'

'Too many,' Kaiba shrugged, 'including Covo.'

'Was it Yugi or Mai next?' Tristan's face filled with a thoughtful look.

'Mai,' Kaiba focused his gaze on Mokuba, 'your first kill.'

'How...?' Mokuba swallowed hard. 'How did I do it?'

'You poisoned her, said she belonged in the heavens with the First, since she was his Win. A story which would have been more convincing if her death had been quick and sudden,' his face was a strange mixture of amusement and disgust, 'but it wasn't. It took months for her to die. We all thought she was just getting sick, it was only afterwards the truth came out.'

'Yugi was next,' Tristan picked up, 'a combined effort between you and the First would you believe. See by this point the Face of Friendship had allied herself with Crovell, just like the rest of us. So Yugi was there in the frontline when we declared war.'

'Unfortunately we were still powerless at the time,' Kaiba rolled his eyes, 'so we kind of went into battle half-cocked, so to speak; especially since you already had most of the Wen on your side by that time.'

'In hindsight we should have waited till Jo and Crovell's powers were a little more developed, but things were starting to fall apart in our reality and time wasn't a luxury we had.'

'Catilin became really ill after Yugi died,' Kaiba's voice was strangely mute. 'We're not sure why, but she lingered in this painful state somewhere between life and death for years before Duke begged Jo to put her out of her misery.'

'Wait... Jo?' Mokuba stared at him. 'Why Jo?

'Because she was the only one who could,' Tristan turned his gaze away. 'When we say Catilin was lingering somewhere between life and death we're not meaning it metaphorically. Whatever was wrong with her trapped her in some kind of limbo and Jo was the only one of us who had power over life and death.'

'I see,' Mokuba lowered his gaze, 'so how long ago did Catilin die?'

'A little over three years I think.'

'But... I don't understand, I thought she was the one who stopped Duke from completely gutting me, so... how long ago did Drake die?'

'Catilin stopped Duke from beyond the grave,' Kaiba gave a twisted sounding laugh, 'the only thing we don't know is how.'


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

'This is madness,' Kaiba glared at Yugi as he activated his dueldisk. 'I can't believe I'm going to say this Yugi, but it looks like I'm going to have to talk some sense into you.'

'Aw, is the mighty Seto Kaiba so afraid he's going to lose, that he actually believes talking will help?' Yugi's face filled with a tauntingly amused look.

'Don't mock me, Yugi,' he gritted his teeth as he pulled five cards into his hand, 'you're the one who wanted this god forsaken duel.'

'So then I guess you won't mind if I go first,' Yugi drew six cards, 'although even if you did mind, I'm not exactly giving you a choice.'

'Whatever.'

'Let's duel and I think I'll start by playing Wolf of the Eighth Order in attack mode,' he threw the card down onto his dueldisk and watched as the half wolf, half human monster appeared in front of him. 'I should warn you, there are a great deal more Wolves in my deck than there were in SK or Korin's. See, you were the only one Lord Mokuba felt was worth tormenting and to do that he had to make you think you had a shot at winning.'

'I did win in case you didn't notice,' Kaiba met his gaze, 'and you were criticizing me for talking too much. Finish your turn already.'

'You'll regret those words,' Yugi placed two cards face down, 'I end my turn.'

'About time. Draw.'

_'Kaiba,'_ Crovell's voice suddenly sounded in his head.

_'How?'_ Kaiba glanced towards him.

_'You were the ones who made sure the Pure and Win still had their powers, even if they couldn't use them in those bodies of yours. It doesn't take a genius to tap into them, although it does help.'_

_ 'Whatever; just tell me what you want.'_

_ 'I have the power to level the playing field.' _

_'What do you mean?'_

_'I mean, if you let me, I can actualise your monsters. If what he's saying is about his deck is true, it might be the only way to beat him.'_

_'Alright, do it.'_

'Are you actually going to make a move or what?' Yugi's voice dripped with childish impatience.

'I play X-Head Cannon in attack mode,' Kaiba turned his attention back towards the field.

'Well that was smart,' Yugi smirked, 'you don't even know what the attack points of my monster are and even if you did it's not like you can actually attack my Wolf.'

'We'll see,' Kaiba's eyes narrowed, 'X-Head Cannon attack his Wolf of the Eighth Order.'

Doing as it was told, the Cannon shot a beam of colourful of light towards the Wolf. To Kaiba's relief the attack connected, the Wolf was destroyed and Yugi's life points dropped by one hundred.

'What the hell?' The anger in Yugi's voice was matched only by the look on his face. 'How the hell did you do that?'

'Let's just say I've played this game before,' Crovell smirked.

'You,' Yugi glared, 'Lord Mokuba warned _you_ might be trouble.'

'Trouble, Yugi, now that's an understatement. I'm chaos.'

'Whatever,' he waved his hand dismissively, 'this just makes things that much more interesting.'

'I believe it's still my turn,' Kaiba brought the attention back to himself, 'and I'm gonna lay three cards face down and end it there.'

'Draw,' Yugi pulled the top card from his deck and slipped it into his hand. 'First I'm going to activate my Luna Calling magic card,' one of the two projected face down cards rose, 'this allows me to call forth all Wolves of the Forth Order I have in my hand. Unfortunately for you, I have three,' a cruel smile filled his face as three half wolf, half human creatures appeared before him. 'Next I activate Half Cast Moon,' the other faced down card activated, 'this gives my Wolves a five hundred point power boost,' As he spoke the Wolves began to emit an eerie glow, 'and now I think it's time to use my little pack; Wolf of the Fourth Order attack Kaiba's Cannon.'

'Not so fast Yugi,' Kaiba held his hand out towards his left trap card as the Wolf bounded forward, 'I activate Negate Attack.' As the card lifted the attacking Wolf halted in its tracks. 'Better luck next time.'

'Fine,' he snorted, 'I end my turn.'

'Draw. I play my Y-Dragon Head and you know what that means,' he smirked as his Y-Dragon Head joined with his X-Head Cannon in order to form XY-Dragon Cannon. 'I may not know what the attack strengths of your Wolves are, but I know a way to find out. First off I activate my Shrink card,' one of his two remaining face down cards activated, 'and I'm going to use it in order to cut the attack points of one of your Wolves in half,' as he said this, one of Yugi's monsters decreased dramatically in height. 'XY-Dragon Cannon attack his Wolf now.'

Doing as it was told, his monster fired a beam of coloured light at the smallest Wolf, destroying it and dropping Yugi's life points from three thousand nine hundred, to two thousand seven hundred and fifty.

'You know, you're really playing a sloppy game Yugi,' Kaiba gave a half laugh. 'I hate to admit it, but maybe all that heart of the cards stuff you're always preaching about really does improve the way you play. After all, there's no heart in using a deck filled with innocent souls.'

'And what would you know?'

'I know enough to know you're not acting like yourself Yugi. Whatever that Mokuba fake has done to your mind has prevented you from thinking clearly.'

'Oh shut up Kaiba, no one cares, least of all you.'

'Maybe not, but I can't help but wonder what those dweebs you call friends would think if they could see you now.'

'Really, you're going to stand there and talk about friendship when I'm the face of it?' As he spoke an aura began to swirl round him and his eyes became covered with a glowing glaze, only instead of being the normal Mistress white, both were tinted grey. 'Is your turn over yet Kaiba, because I have little patience left and I'm itching to finish this duel.'

* * *

Hazelnut hadn't meant to upset her sister like that, but it couldn't be helped. If Lilac couldn't wake up to the reality of their situation then there wasn't anything she could do about it. And it wasn't like it would matter for much longer anyway. As she made her way through the graveyard, she pulled out her pocket knife and began flicking it open and shut. In her mind she found herself going over the least painful ways to send her sister off, before the end came. Lilac might have been the world's most annoying sibling ever, but that didn't mean Hazelnut wanted her to suffer.

In the weeks leading up to this there had been many discussions between Duke and the other grownups about the best way to deal with her and her sister. Hazelnut wasn't supposed to listen in on these conversations, but she'd never let anything so petty as good manners stop her from doing anything. During their last conversation Hazelnut had felt the need to interrupt; she had the right to decide whose hands would end hers and her sister's lives and she chose her own. They'd respected her for that and now she was going to repay their respect by laying him to rest in the one spot he deserved to lay.

'I stumbled from the ashes, to find that you were gone,' she began to sing quietly to herself. 'In the time I wasted, I found that I was wrong.' He was in sight now and the hot prick of tears began to burn behind her eyes. 'There's no point in hiding, now the pain is gone. Though the ash was blinding, I've found that I'm still strong,' her singing voice wavered as all the tears she'd left unshed over the years began to stream down her face; she didn't know why the sight of him now weakened her so much, but it did. 'Fool is moving forward, time to do what's right. In the time I've taken, I've found that I can fight.'


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

Ahna felt herself almost hesitate when she entered the great hall. Mokuba was sat on a large, throne-like chair at the far end with the inhuman monster which had once been Joey lying at his feet. She tried to suppress the shudder of fear which moved through her as she made her way towards him accompanied by her two companions. Everything in her prayed he would be just as fooled by her disguise as they'd been.

'You all have cards for me I take it?' Mokuba's gaze flicked coolly between them.

'Where's SK and Korin?' Jay ignored his question. 'Shouldn't they have finished their duel by now?'

'You're right,' he held two cards up towards them, 'unfortunately they failed me, which is why I'm glad you two had more success.'

'What do you mean two?' Nayta frowned. 'There are three of us.'

'Yes, but one of you is the Copycat duellist, isn't that right Ahna?'

With little else she could do, Ahna glamoured back into herself and activated her dueldisk.

'Duel me Mokuba, right here, right now.'

'And just what makes you think I want to duel you?'

'Who said I was giving you a choice?' Ahna held his gaze as she slotted the Light to Shadows card she'd taken off Covo into her dueldisk. 'Winner takes all.'

* * *

'Wow, I never thought I'd see the Mistresses' original aura colour,' Crovell gave a strange sounding laugh.

'Their original aura colour,' Kaiba stared at him, 'are you colour blind or something?'

'No,' he shook his head, 'why, isn't that the colour your auras are supposed to be?'

'No, they're supposed to be white,' Kaiba gritted his teeth.

'But it is white?' Crovell looked slightly confused. 'At least it sure as hell looks white to me.'

'Then you really are colour blind,' he shook his head, 'that aura has a hint of grey in it.'

'Really, I can't tell.'

'When this is over with I'm going to get your parents to get your eyes tested. If that is your definition of white I dread to think what's going on with your vision.'

'Look, if you'd seen the auras the Mistresses have now you'd agree with me that his was white,' Crovell sounded agitated.

'Because nobody knows what white looks like in your time?' Kaiba rolled his eyes.

'I guess not.'

'Are you two going to stand about all day discussing the colour of white,' Yugi sounded bored, 'or are we gonna finish this duel?'

'I end my turn,' Kaiba turned his attention back towards him.

'Good. Draw. I switch my two remaining Wolves into defence mode, then summon Wolf of the Third Order, also in defence mode and end my turn.'

'My move.'

Kaiba's felt his eyes bulge as he stared down at the card he'd just drawn. He'd only put it in his deck because Tristan had begged him, he didn't have any real intention of using it. Yet there it was staring at him tauntingly. Hesitantly he placed it in his hand along with his other cards and tried to figure out what move to make next. Unfortunately for him, no matter how hard he tried to focus on the rest of his hand, his eyes kept getting drawn back to the Sharpshooter. A light sweat covered his palms as the feeling in the pit of his stomach told him what his next move was going to be.

'If I knew you were going to take forever and a day to make each move I would have brought a book to read,' Yugi shot him a look. 'Could you just get on with it already?'

'Fine, you asked for it. First off I play my Cost Down magic card, allowing me to summon my Sharpshooter without a sacrifice.'

'Is this supposed to be some kind of joke?' Yugi cocked an eyebrow as the Sharpshooter materialised.

'That's what I'd like to know,' Tristan frowned, 'I thought we were taking on Mokuba, not Yugi.'

'That's what he thought too,' Yugi smirked, 'but I decided I wanted to have some fun and I wasn't going to take no for an answer.'

'So that's the way it is.'

'Looks like it.'

'I hope you're planning on using me now Seto,' Tristan glanced back towards him.

'Of course,' Kaiba nodded. 'It's time to say goodbye to two of your Wolves Yugi.'

Tristan grabbed the gun strapped to his back, took aim and fired a beam of white light at one of Yugi's monsters. It was destroyed instantly and Tristan cocked his head in arrogant celebration.

'And now it's the turn of my XY-Dragon Cannon,' Kaiba kept the pace up, 'so my monster attack one of his Wolves of the Fourth Order.' Within seconds another of Yugi's monsters was destroyed. 'I think I'll end my turn now.'

'You'll pay for that,' Yugi drew a card; the second he looked down at it he began to laugh cruelly. 'Now this is a surprise,' he grinned, 'you know you're not the only one who can play your friends.'

'And just what's that supposed to mean?'

'It means I sacrifice my remaining Wolf of the Fourth Order, in order to play Lady of the Seven Harpies.'

In a swirl of light a blonde haired woman, dressed in a Roman styled tunic, with large bird like wings on her back and feathers running through her hair, appeared on the field.

'Mai,' Crovell took half a step towards her.

As he did someone else appeared on the field, taking everyone by surprise. It was a young girl, roughly five years of age, with intelligent velvet brown eyes and blonde hair. She too was dressed in a Roman styled tunic and had feathers running through her hair, but, unlike Mai, she was wingless. Lovingly Mai scooped the child up into her arms and allowed the girl to rest her head against her chest, as she innocently sucked her thumb.

'Mai… Mai's pregnant,' Crovell stammered, 'that must mean their souls are linked. So when Mai was taken then… then so was she.'

'What on earth are you babbling about?' Kaiba turned to him.

'The girl,' he murmured, 'she... she's a manifestation of _her_ spirit in connection to Mai.'

'Of whose spirit?'

'Kaiba,' he swallowed hard, 'that girl is my sister.'


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

'You were supposed to be a baby monster,' Lilac's voice was so shrill and angry Mokuba wished he could cram his hands over his ears and block it out. 'Baby monsters aren't supposed to cause people pain. Baby monsters aren't supposed to hurt people. Baby monsters aren't supposed to make people go away and never come back. You're a bad baby monster, I hate you, I hate you.'

'Ly calm down,' Kaiba grabbed hold of her and shook her slightly.

'No, no, I won't, I won't. Uncle Duke's gone. Uncle Duke's gone and it's all the baby monsters fault. He made it happen. He made it happen when he made the air sad.'

'Ly... Duke made the decision weeks ago...'

'No, no, you're lying, you're lying,' she pulled away from him and crammed her hands over her ears. 'This is not the end. This is not what uncle Duke wanted. It's all the baby monsters fault. He made him sad. He made all of you sad and now all of you think it's the end, but it's not. It's not. There is no end; there is only the baby monster.'

'Ly...'

'I'll prove it to you,' she glared at him. 'I'll make the baby monster pay and then the air won't be sad anymore. Then you'll see. Then you'll see it's not the end. Then you'll be angry at the baby monster too.'

Without warning she jutted the palm of her hand into Mokuba's chest. As it made contact with him, disjointed images flashed through his mind.

'Lilac what are you doing?' Tristan's voice was a mixture of frustration and confusion as he tried to pull Lilac away. 'You're ruining everything.'

'No I'm not, he is, he is.'

Mokuba felt Lilac's nails scrape along his chest as she gripped onto his shirt. The disjointed images became stronger and more disturbing to the point where they became nightmarish; overwhelming his mind to a point where he could barely register what was going on around him. Somehow someone managed to pull her away, but Mokuba only knew because he could no longer feel her nails digging into him.

'Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop,' Mokuba could hear the frightened tones of a familiar voice, but had no idea whether or not it was his own. 'Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop.'

But he knew there was no end to it; he was trapped inside the nightmare now and he didn't know if there would ever be a way out.

* * *

The Lady of the Seven Harpies stared blankly ahead, whilst the little girl's eyes darted curiously around.

'Mai...' Tristan hesitated, 'Mai, are you okay?'

She made no reply. Instead she just continued to stare sightlessly ahead as though nothing around her existed.

'She's not self aware,' he turned to Crovell. 'Why isn't she self aware?'

'Because Jo's protecting her,' Crovell's voice was dry, 'I guess she couldn't bear the thought of her mother going through this.'

'When you're done discussing the finer points of my monster... or should I say monsters,' Yugi smirked, 'I'd like to finish my turn. And I think I'll start by using my Lady's special ability.'

Against his will, Tristan found himself being switched into defence mode.

'Our monsters had the same attack strength,' Yugi cocked his head to one side, 'so attacking with them both in attack mode wouldn't have done me any favours. Sure you're still not gonna lose any life points, but at least it will get your pathetic excuse for a monster off the field without removing mine.' His eyes glinted with dark excitement. 'Enjoy the graveyard Tristan. Lady of the Seven Harpies attack his Sharpshooter.'

'Not so fast Yugi,' Kaiba activated one of his face down cards, 'I using my final face down card, Command Silencer.'

You can't protect him forever Kaiba,' Yugi glared as he lay the final card in his hand down onto the field. 'I end my turn.'

'Draw.'

Tristan turned his gaze towards Kaiba as he contemplated his next move. Everything in him wished he could still read minds, that way he would know what Kaiba was thinking about. It was frustrating. More so when he realised he had no idea how Kaiba was going to get out of this situation without either of the two soul cards on the field ending up in the graveyard.

'What's the matter Kaiba,' Yugi's voice was darkly taunting, 'not afraid to duel, are we?'

'Shut up,' Kaiba's gaze remained focused on his hand.

'He's just trying to rattle you Seto, keep your cool,' Tristan knew Kaiba would probably hate the pep talk, but he didn't know what else to do.

'It's kind of hard to keep your cool when you realised you've swapped places with Yugi,' Kaiba's tone was dryly sarcastic. 'Moral dilemmas whilst duelling are his expertise, not mine.'

'I know this is a difficult situation to be in Seto, but whatever you've got to do, just do it. I'll be okay and so will Mai.'

'You know duel monsters should be seen and not heard,' Yugi rolled his eyes. 'This duel is already dragging on forever because your precious Kaiba can't get his act together and make a move in less than twenty minutes. Talking to him is not exactly the best way of speeding things up.'

'Then how about I make my move instead,' Kaiba glared up at him. 'I'll start by switching my Sharpshooter back into attack mode. Then I'll fuse him together with my Lord of Dragons in order to create the Dragon Gunman.'

Within seconds Tristan found himself shirtless, with a dragon shaped helmet on his head. His combat trousers and boots were a similar style to the ones he'd been wearing before, but the trousers were now a richer green colour and the boots had a shinier appearance to them. The gun in his hands was larger than his previous weapon and had a dragon emblem etched onto it.

'Now this is more like it,' Tristan stared down the sight of his weapon, aiming it at Yugi.

'You're actually happy about this?' Kaiba sounded marginally unimpressed. 'You know you're about to send Mai to the graveyard, right?'

'As harsh as this might sound Seto, Mai doesn't exactly know what's going on right now,' he glanced towards him.

'It still doesn't make it right.'

'Wow, you really have turned into Yugi,' Tristan smirked. 'But, look at it this way, would you rather I was sent there.'

'No.'

'Then order me to attack already.'

'Fine, Dragon Gunman attack Yugi's Lady of the Seven Harpies.'

Tristan took a deep breath in raised the gun and fired. It didn't make him feel good doing it, but it was the right thing to do so what choice did he have. He watched as a beam of white light shot out of his weapon towards Mai and the child, engulfing them both. Yugi's life points dropped another two hundred points and an angry growl rolled out of his throat. Tristan lowered his weapon and waited for the light to clear. When it did it revealed the Lady of the Seven Harpies and the girl still present on Yugi's side of the field.

'How did you protect your monster?' Kaiba stared at his opponent.

'He didn't,' Crovell's voice sounded strange, 'it was Jo.'

'But how?'

'Well she is technically a duel monsters card right now Kaiba, she's hardly going to be completely useless.'

'Who cares how this happen,' Tristan felt himself sigh in relief, 'I'm just glad we're both okay.'

'Did you know something like this would happen?' Kaiba eyed him up suspiciously.

'No, but I did hope.'

'Typical,' he rolled his eyes. 'I play one card face down and end my turn.'

'Looks like you've run out of luck Kaiba,' Yugi laughed manically as he drew the top card from his deck. 'First of all I'm going to use my Lady's special ability in order to switch your Gunman into defence mode...'

'Not so fast,' Kaiba activated one of his two face down cards, 'I figured you might be able to reuse that special ability of yours, so I'm playing Breakthrough Skill to negate the effect of your Lady of the Seven Harpies, so now you can't switch my Sharpshooter into defence mode,' he smirked. 'If you'd been playing your normal game Yugi you'd have seen that one coming a mile off, but like I was saying before you're not up to standard and, because of that, I will beat you.'


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

'The kid's working out better than I thought,' Set folded his arms as he stared down at their viewer, 'the infant is all but defenceless now.'

'It's just unfortunate one of his current protectors happens to be the Pure,' Sta's jaw set firm. 'She's not going to be easy to deal with.'

'She is considering she's powerless right now father,' Ni smirked.

'Funny, I thought I taught you better than to underestimate your own mother,' Sta narrowed his gaze.

'Does the old ball and chain really make you so nervous brother,' Du smirked.

'She doesn't make me nervous, I just dislike it when people underestimate her,' Sta folded his arms. 'She's more of a fighter than people give her credit for.'

'People other than you, clearly, since her mere presence was enough to make you do a complete turnaround about this situation,' Du laughed. 'What happened to all your confidence?'

'I'm not saying I've lost my faith in this plan, I'm just saying we shouldn't underestimate the Pure,' he moodily averted his gaze. 'I know her better than all of you, there are very few things which can make her stop in her tracks.'

'Then we better hope our Win Mokuba knows what they are then,' Ni chuckled, 'because I can taste death in the air and I hate to be disappointed.'

* * *

'Somehow I thought she'd put up more of a fight,' Jay laughed as he watched the card slowly drift to the ground.

'So did I,' Nayta calmly picked it up, 'but I should have known I was being too generous in my opinion of her.'

'The only generous thing about her was the size of her...'

'Must you be so vulgar all the time?'

'Well I am the perverted one, aren't I?' Jay grinned at her, before turning his attention towards Mokuba. 'So boss, what's next?'

'You are,' Mokuba's voice was strangely callous.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means there's a reason the two of you have managed to survive this long and if I don't deal with you now you could become a problem to me.'

'But you control us, remember,' Jay shook his right wrist at him.

'Right now I do,' his expression revealed nothing, 'but that will only last for so long and I can't have either one of you going after the power which belongs to me.'

Before either of them could say anything else, the gold cuff bracelets they were wearing began to spark dangerously.

'What's going on?' Nayta winced in pain. 'Mokuba what did you do?'

He made no response. Instead he just stood there laughing as the two of them struggled to get the cuffs off.

'You'll pay for this Mokuba,' Nayta's voice was shrill with anger, 'you'll pay for this!'

* * *

In the end victory had been almost too easy. Kaiba wasn't sure if he was disappointed by it or not, but it definitely left a heavy weight in his chest. Without a word he made his way towards Yugi's unconscious body and picked up the card which lay so innocently beside it.

'Duel Soul, right?' Crovell's voice sounded from behind him.

'Yeah.'

'You should grab Mai's card whilst you're there too.'

'I was planning to.'

'You really don't change,' there was more than a note of admiration in Crovell's voice.

Kaiba gave a heavy sigh as he retrieved the Lady of the Seven Harpies. He then held her alongside Duel Soul and the Sharpshooter.

'Great, he would be more powerful than them,' Kaiba shook his head.

'That's because technically there are two souls making up that card, well... three if you also count the Face of Friendship separately to Yugi,' Crovell appeared beside him.

'Typical,' rolling his eyes, he activated his dueldisk and lay all three cards down on it.

'Great and now I'm feeling self-conscious again,' Tristan did his best to hide the scars along his arms.

'What's going on?' Mai's face was filled with a baffled expression. 'And who is she?' She gazed down at the child in her arms.

'That would be Jo,' Crovell tilted his head to one side as his gaze focused on the little girl.

'But Jo is older than this.'

'Well... that depends on how you look at it.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Technically speaking she hasn't been born yet,' Crovell smirked.

'We're surprised you even bothered to summon us,' Yugi hung his head shamefully. 'We mean, after everything we just put you through.'

'If you keep speaking about yourself in the plural like that, I might just have to remove you again,' Kaiba narrowed his gaze on him.

'We can't help it; we are more than one person after all.'

'Then you might want to consider not talking.'

'So it's time to go after that imposter now, right Seto?' Tristan met his gaze.

'That's the plan.'

'Great, just make sure you summon me to deliver the final blow,' he hit his right fist against his left palm.

Kaiba smirked at him, but said nothing. Truth was he wasn't sure exactly how he was going to beat Mokuba; after all he had no idea what kind of deck the fake in his brother's body was using. Still the idea of beating him with the Sharpshooter alone was more than a little tempting.

'Well there won't be any blows at all unless we get moving,' Crovell rolled his eyes. 'And before any of you start sniggering like little school boys, I don't mean that kind of blow.'

'Please don't tell me I lose maturity when I gain age,' Tristan shook his head.

'I didn't say that.'

'No, but your comment kind of implied it.'

'Huh, I guess it did,' Crovell titled his head to one side.

'Whatever,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'I have a fake to duel,' his eyes turned towards Duel Soul, 'so Yugi, where is that little worm hiding?'

'The great hall,' Yugi's gaze shifted down the corridor, 'or at least that's where we were told to gather once we'd won our cards.'

Kaiba nodded, before making his way forward.

'Err... Seto,' Tristan gave a nervous cough, 'aren't you forgetting something?'

'Oh yeah,' Kaiba stopped for a moment to remove Yugi and Mai's cards from his dueldisk and shuffled them into his deck.

'And what about me?' Tristan stared at him.

'I'll shuffle you into my deck once we reach the great hall,' Kaiba shrugged.

'Why don't you do it now?'

Kaiba went to say something, then hesitated. What reason could he give Tristan which wouldn't sound weird or lead to further questions? Instead he shrugged away and continued down the corridor.

'You know if you're going to do this to me, you could at least wait for me to be ready,' Tristan fell into step beside him.

'I don't have time for you to be ready,' Kaiba focused on the corridor ahead of them, 'I have a monster to duel.'

* * *

'They don't change,' Crovell smirked as he stared down at the baby in his arms. 'So should we follow them?'

The baby gurgled in an impatient little way which needed no interpretation.

'You're right,' he laughed, 'what choice do we have?'


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

The doors crashed open as the pair of them burst into the great hall. Mokuba was sat at the opposite end of the room with a wolf-like monster lying at his feet. In the corner to the right of him lay three unconscious bodies, no doubt Mokuba's latest victims.

'You dog,' Kaiba focused his attention on his brother, 'I challenge you to a duel right here, right now. And when I win you'll reverse what you've done to Tristan and the others.'

'I thought you didn't want to duel me,' Mokuba smirked at him.

'Right now I don't see any other way of getting my brother back.'

'I told you before Seto, I am your brother.'

'The Mokuba I know would never do something like this,' Tristan took a step towards him.

'The Mokuba you know is dead.'

'Liar,' Kaiba glared at him, 'my brother is not dead and a monster like you has no right to use his name or his body.'

'And people wonder why I could never forgive you,' Mokuba gave a deliberately overdramatic shrug. 'You're such a needlessly stubborn bastard, who only ever thinks about what _you_ want. Did you ever think being like this was what was best for me?'

'I think the best thing for you right now is to duel me.'

'Oh please, do you really think I've wasted all this time creating the perfect deck just to duel an amateur like you?'

'Hey, that's Seto Kaiba you're talking about,' Tristan balled his hands into fists, 'nobody calls him an amateur and gets away with it.'

'Still acting like he actually gives a damn about you,' Mokuba shook his head. 'It's sad, it really is.'

Just as he was saying this Crovell, still carrying the baby version of himself, entered. His eyes quickly assessed the situation as the baby in his arms gurgled with concern. This started the wolf-like beast growling. It slowly rose to its feet and took several steps towards them.

'We've been expecting you.' Mokuba laughed as he too got to his feet. 'You've been keeping me waiting and you know how much I hate to be kept waiting.'

'Don't you dare ignore me you fake,' Kaiba gritted his teeth, 'I was here first and you will duel me.'

'Must you be so insistent you arrogant bastard?'

Mokuba held a hand out towards him and the card still active on Kaiba's dueldisk flew across the room into it. Instantly Tristan's image to disappear.

'Are you seriously going to use his card against me?' Kaiba met his brother's gaze.

'Actually I have a better idea,' Mokuba held the card between both of his hands. 'You know I've always wanted to test my little theory that the only person you really care about is yourself. This seems like the perfect opportunity, doesn't it?'

'You wouldn't,' his stomach spiked with fear as he realised what Mokuba was intending.

'Oh believe me Seto, I would. I mean, the poor guy will just go through his whole life following after you like some sad little puppy dog, falsely believing there's a part of you which actually cares and I just can't stand to watch something so pathetic play out. Not again.'

'Don't you dare,' Kaiba took several steps towards him. 'Please, don't do this.'

'Is that actual emotion I'm hearing from you brother?' Mokuba laughed. 'Does the mighty Seto Kaiba actually have a weakness I can exploit?'

'I...'

Before Kaiba could finish his sentence, Mokuba had torn the card in two.

'No,' the word was soft, but the pain pressing against Kaiba's chest was intense. 'No, no, no, no, no.'

As he watched the two halves of the card float to the ground, Kaiba dropped heavily to his knees. His body filled with paralysing feelings of pain, loss and guilt. It was his fault this had happened. His fault Tristan was gone. It was his fault... his fault... his fault... it was all his fault...

* * *

'Kaiba, listen to me, it's not what it looks like,' Crovell stared desperately at him, 'you've got to snap out of it. Kaiba. Kaiba please, I know this looks bad but... I swear it's not what it looks like. Kaiba. Kaiba you have to snap out of it. Kaiba I need you to help me.'

'You know you're fighting a losing battle there, right,' Mokuba's voice was filled with amusement, 'we both know just how much grief paralysis the Pure. It's her greatest weakness and one my dearly beloved brother shares. The only real question here though, is whose grief has left them paralysed?'

'You bastard,' Crovell turned on him, 'there was no need for you to do that.'

'Maybe not,' he smirked, 'but since you're making little changes in order to make a _better future_, I thought I would too.'

'How is doing _that_ to Tristan better for anybody?' Crovell gritted his teeth. 'You know what tearing someone's soul card does.'

'You're right, I do,' he flicked his right hand upwards causing two cards to appear in it, 'which is why I know _they_ won't be a problem for me now. All that's left for me to deal with is you,' he examined the two cards he was holding. 'You know I think Duel Soul and Lady of the Seven Harpies were always my favourite cards,' with a slight smile on his face he shuffled them into his deck. 'So what do you say my dear little Crovell, are you ready to duel?'

'What the...?' Crovell couldn't help but laugh with shock as his baby self vanished from his arms. 'Mokuba what the hell did you do?'

'I just freed your arms up for you,' he rolled his eyes, 'I mean, you can hardly duel whilst holding a baby, now can you?' He slotted his deck into his blade shaped dueldisk and activated the Light to Shadows card. 'But don't worry; he's perfectly safe, for now at least. Of course, how long he'll remain that way is another matter.'

The wolf like creature rose to his feet and began to stalk his way out of the room.

'I guess I should have expected this from you,' Crovell stared at him in disgust, 'gutless monster.'

'I'd sooner be a gutless monster than the Heir to Chaos,' Mokuba met his gaze, 'especially right now.'

'I thought you said it was time to duel Mokuba,' Crovell activated his dueldisk, 'or did you just activate that demon spawn of a card of yours for show?'

'Eagar to lose are we?' Mokuba drew five cards into his hand.

'Oh we both know I'm going to beat you Mokuba.'

'Are you sure about that? After all, I'm not the one on a time limit here or had you forgotten about the big bad daddy wolf?'

'I've faced worse,' Crovell gritted his teeth as he pulled five cards into his hand, 'your cheep tactics don't frighten me. Do you mind if I go first?'

'Well it's your life on the line, so be my guest.'

'Fine by me. Draw,' he stared down at his hand and tried to ignore the little voice in his head telling him this wasn't how he was supposed to use his father's deck. 'I play Little Winguard in attack mode,' he threw his monster down onto his dueldisk, 'then I lay two cards face down and end my turn.'

'Typical,' Mokuba rolled his eyes, 'you duel just like your father.'

'My father was a good duellist.'

'What would you know? You've never seen him duel.'

'My father was a good duellist, just like my mother.'

'Your mother couldn't beat me.'

'No, but I will,' Crovell held Mokuba's gaze in the most intimidating manner he was capable of. 'Now stop procrastinating and make your move already.'

'If that's what you want,' Mokuba shrugged as he drew a card from the top of his deck. 'I play Wolf of the Second Order in attack mode.'

'Oo scary,' Crovell mocked fear, 'I'm shaking in my dueldisk.'

'You should be.'

'Oh please, there are only two decent Veron monsters and neither one of them is in your deck.'

'Really?' Mokuba cocked an eyebrow. 'You sure about that?'

'Like I'm falling for that one,' Crovell folded his arms. 'I know what you're trying to do Mokuba and it won't work. So stop talking and let's duel already.'

'You're going to regret those words.'

'Sure I am,' he smirked, 'but not before you do.'


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

Pain flooded through every single inch of his body, causing him to jut into an upright sitting position. His eyes opened onto a world of blinding red and his head ached like someone was crushing their hands against his skull. It was enough to make him close his eyes again and crumple himself into a tight ball. Unfortunately for him this turned the red into a disjointed black which flashed with colours and made him feel sick.

'It hurts, it hurts,' the words bleated out of him, 'it hurts.'

When no one responded to his cries, he forced himself to open his eyes again. As he did senseless images flickered in front of him. There was something threatening about their speed and he found himself pulling away from them, wishing they would stop. It felt like forever had passed before the visual confusion settled and he found himself in a cool, dimly lit space.

The room was filled with shelves and the shelves were filled with strange looking objects. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he knew what these objects were and what this room was supposed to be, but for some reason he couldn't bring that information to the front of his mind. For a moment he found himself tugging at the sleeves of his shirt; there was something comfortingly familiar about this action. The movement caused the white material covering him to slip out of place. Curiously he found himself examining it.

The examination of the material revealed it to be some kind of clothing, although he couldn't be sure why he was so certain of that. But then he wasn't exactly sure what he did and didn't know, so finding the reasons why he knew anything wasn't exactly important.

'You don't belong to me,' he fondled the material for a moment, 'who do you belong to?'

His eyes made another examination of the room he was in. There was no one else there. An ache of disappointment filled his chest. No, not disappointment, it was something else. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but something which compelled him to get to his feet and slip the white article of clothing on. From the poor way it fit he knew he'd been right when he said it didn't belong to him, but all that really meant was that it had to belong to someone else. Someone important.

He might not have been able to remember their name or where they were or why he was on his own or... anything, but he did remember this person meant everything to him. And if they meant everything to him the reverse had to be true to, didn't it? Why else would they have left something of theirs to keep him warm? At that moment in time he knew what he had to do; he had to find this important person and he couldn't rest until he was at their side again.

Without a single moment of hesitation he made his way out of the room he was in, into a bigger one. This space was also empty, so he quickly made his way through it and out into the corridor which lay beyond. It was now the sound of crying reached his ears. It was faint to begin with, but as he headed in the direction it was coming from it got louder and louder. Not liking the sound of distress he momentarily forgot his own goal in order to comfort the noise maker.

His side quest led him into a small room with a disproportionately large bed at one end. On the bed lay a small, squishy little human being dressed from head to foot in an all in one blue outfit. For a long beat he found himself staring at this tiny being, knowing he knew the name for what it was, but unable to bring it to mind. His brain dropped this train of thoughts when he realised the squishy thing was the one making the awful crying noise and it was probably best if he found a way of shutting it up.

'Hi there,' he walked over the the blue clad little human and picked it up, 'must you be so loud, it's hurting my ears you know.'

The ball of squishiness began to calm down, its screams turning into whimpers as its watery blue eyes stared up at him.

'Thank you,' he smiled, 'that's much better.'

He went to put the little person down again, but it started making fussing noises and he was worried it would up in volume. Giving a heavy sigh he pulled the squishy human closer to himself and perched on the end of the bed.

'You know I have things to do,' he pouted, 'there's someone out there waiting for me, I know it. I can't remember who they are and I don't know where they might be, but I know they're waiting for me. I have to look for them.'

The squishy little human gurgled at him.

'Is there someone waiting for you too?' He frowned, not sure what the gurgling meant. 'Or are you waiting for them to come back? If you're waiting for them to come back I could hang around for a bit I guess. But only for a bit, because the person I need to find is really important. _And_ they're missing me right now, I just know it.'

* * *

So the wolf was back to hunting again, not that he minded. Hunting was what he was good at anyway. It was in his blood. It was his very nature. That's why he could enjoy every moment and take so much pleasure in it.

The strong scent which wafted towards him let him know his prey was near. Instinct and delight rolled into one as he picked up his pace and moved in for the kill.

* * *

Crovell could feel time ticking away around him. The longer the duel lasted, the less time he would have to save himself once it was over. Sighing with frustration he stared down at his hand. Right now the only thing he had going for him was the fact he was winning, but that wouldn't last for long, not if Mokuba started summoning the Light to Shadows monsters.

'Need I remind you that it's your turn Crovell?' Mokuba interrupted his train of thoughts.

'I know, I know,' Crovell half glared at him. 'I sacrifice my Swordsman of Landstar in order to summon Jinzo. Ha, try using traps now.'

'You gloat way too easily.'

'Yeah, but at least I'm on the attack, unlike you. Speaking of which, Jinzo attack his defending Wolf of the Sixth Order right now.'

Jinzo created a ball of red energy in his hands which he threw at the Wolf opposite, destroying it completely. Crovell allowed himself a moment to enjoy the pleasure, before checking his hand for any other moves he could make.

'I think I'll end my turn there,' he kept his voice cool, but cocky. 'It's your move.'

'Draw,' a sly smile crept across Mokuba's face as he stared down at the card he was holding. 'I play Gemini Calling, now by sacrificing one monster from my hand, I can summon any monsters in my hand or deck with the word Gemini in their title and lucky me I have two.' He lay the cards down on his dueldisk.

'Covo, Korin,' Crovell felt a strange feeling of remorse run through him, 'I'm sorry he's putting you through this.'

'They can't hear you,' Mokuba wagged his finger at him. 'I'm the Game Master now, remember? I have total control over their minds as well as their cards,' he gave a half laugh. 'You remember the special ability of my monsters, don't you? Just by being on the field together each one of them gains an extra five hundred attack points, so I hope you weren't too attached to that Jinzo of yours. Female Gemini attack.'

Crovell took a step back and gritted his teeth as he watched his monster leave the field and his life points drop.

'And of course we both know one could never have what the other couldn't,' Mokuba smirked. 'So now it's the turn of my Male Gemini, say goodbye to your defensive monster.'

'You'll pay for that,' Crovell growled as the field in front of him stood empty.

'We'll see,' Mokuba lay two cards face down on the field. 'I end my turn.'

'Draw,' he pulled the top card from his deck. 'I play Garoozis in defence mode, then lay one card face down and end my turn.'

'Fine, draw,' Mokuba placed the card into his hand. 'Seeing as how the one drawback of playing both Gemini at the same time is that neither will attack as long as you only have one monster on the field, I think it's time I upgraded them for something or rather someone else.' Covo and Korin disappeared from the field. 'I play Duel Soul in attack mode.'

As Duel Soul appeared on the field, Crovell couldn't help but feel mildly annoyed. He was hoping the Gemini pair would hang around for a little bit longer so he could build his forces up a little. But it didn't matter, he was prepared for whatever Mokuba was about to throw at him next.

'Time to say goodbye to Garoozis,' Mokuba's gloated. 'Duel Soul attack.'

'Did you really think it would be that easy?' Crovell activated his face down card. 'I play Shield and Sword in order to switch our monsters attack points with their defence points. Duel Soul may be a powerful attacking force, but it comes up a little short in the defence point department, which means,' he laughed, 'you just took out your own life points.'

'I end my turn,' Mokuba glared at him as his life points dropped.

'I always knew you were gutless and heartless, but brainless is a new one,' now it was Crovell's turn to gloat. 'You've left yourself wide-open Mokuba,' he drew a card from his deck and placed it into his hand without checking it, 'I activate my Scapegoat magic card, then sacrifice one Scapegoat and my Garoozis in order to summon the legendry Red Eyes Black Dragon.' A single, arrogant laugh coughed out of him as he watched the expression on Mokuba's face drop. 'Say goodbye to the rest of your life points you heatless demon, because there's no way you're getting yourself out of this one.'


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

As he sat there staring down at the squishy little human, a jumble of images began flashing in front of him again. They were just as confusing as before, but somehow he found them less upsetting this time. There was something urgent about them and he couldn't help but think it was because they wanted him to go find the important person _now_.

'I hope the person you're waiting for shows up soon,' he sighed, 'I really can't stay for very much longer.'

The squishy human gurgled and appeared to snuggle itself into him.

'Am I the person you were waiting for?' A deep frown crossed his face. 'I don't feel like I'm the person you're waiting for, but... I don't really remember anything so I could be the person you're waiting for and not know it. But since you're too little to be the person waiting for me...' he pressed his lips together. 'I should get moving, but I know I can't just leave you here by yourself because you'll start making that awful crying noise again. So what am I supposed to do?'

The little person said nothing, but there was something almost pleading about the look in its eyes.

'Okay, you can come with me,' he tried to make the words sound more confident than he felt. 'If I'm the person you were waiting for, then the important person waiting for me will know what I'm supposed to do with you. If not, I'm sure my important person will still know what to do. Is that okay with you?'

The squishy human made a noise which he interpreted as a yes. Without giving it any further thought, he got to his feet and made his way out of the room into the corridor beyond. For a few moments he stared up and down the corridor, trying to figure out which direction he should take.

'This way or that way? This way or that way?' He swung his body back and forth for a few moments. 'I think I'll pick that way.'

He gave a single nod of his head to make his decision final, before setting off. He'd only been walking for a few moments when a shiver ran down his back and a strange feeling of fear spiked through his stomach. Glancing about he felt as though the shadows around him were dancing somehow. Or worse, that they were alive.

'Shadows don't live, do they?' He swallowed hard, not sure if he was talking to the squishy human or not. 'I know I don't remember much, but I think I would remember living shadows, wouldn't I?'

A deep rumbling sound echoed around him, causing him to stop in his tracks. Something told him the sound meant danger and the monster which melted out of the shadows onto the path in front of him just confirmed this. Instinct made him back slowly away, but this only caused the monster to move towards him. It picked up pace faster than he could move, leaping at him when it was within meters of him.

He didn't know why, but he closed his eyes and pulled himself protectively around the squishy human and waited. But instead of feeling the pain of something awful ripping into him, he instead heard a loud yelp of pain. His eyes opened to see the monster reeling for a few moments. Its eyes then flicked angrily up to meet with his, giving his legs all the incentive they needed to turn tail and run.

He didn't know or care what the monster wanted. He didn't know or care why it was so important for him to protect the squishy human from the monster and the fact that right now it also meant protecting himself was just an added bonus. Still the only thing which really mattered was the running. The running would keep them ahead of the monster. The running would keep them both safe. And they had to be safe, because how else would he find the important person he was meant to return to?

* * *

'I activate Cry of the Golden Wolf,' Mokuba's voice emanated out of the Red Eye's attack.

'What?' Crovell backed away fearfully as the dust settled and a large Golden Wolf stood in front of his opponent.

'You didn't think I wouldn't know about her connection to her mother, did you?' Mokuba laughed. 'I may not be on your level of genius Crovell, but I'm not stupid.'

'You sick bastard,' Crovell gritted his teeth, 'how could you?'

'The real question here, oh Heir to Chaos, is how could I not?'

'You evil piece of...'

'Now, now Crovell, watch your language in front of your sister,' Mokuba wagged his finger at him, 'I know the two of you get up to all kinds of depraved things, but you wouldn't want to set a bad example for her now, would you?'

Crovell growled at him, but said nothing. His anger at this situation was beyond words.

'Is your turn over yet?'

'You're only holding on by the skin of your teeth here Mokuba,' Crovell slotted two face down card into his trap and spell zone, 'activating the Cry of the Golden Wolf gave you a reprieve, but the second she's destroyed you're out of here.'

'I know, but I'm betting you won't have the heart to attack her.'

'I end my turn.'

'Good, my move,' Mokuba placed the card he drew straight into his hand before focusing his attention on Crovell. 'I'm going to enjoy this, Wolf of the Golden Order attack his Jinzo, now.'

'Not so fast Mokuba,' Crovell held his arm over one of his two face down cards, 'I activate my Graceful Dice Magic card.'

'You won't dare,' Mokuba laughed, 'this is your beloved sister, you wouldn't hurt her.'

'You're wrong, my sister and I made a promise to each other that no matter what we had to do, we would save the multiverse,' Crovell gritted his teeth as he met and held Mokuba's gaze. 'Besides, I'm not a fool Mokuba, attacking her now isn't going to kill her, but it will bring this duel to an end. Prepare to say goodbye to your life support oh great heartless devil, because this is game over.'

* * *

'They almost look as though they're sleeping, don't they?' Kaiba tilted his head to one side as he crouched in front of the sisters.

'Yeah, if you ignore the blood,' Tristan gave a heavy sigh.

'She was more brutal than I would have expected,' he pressed his lips together in thought.

'Lilac was hysterical; she didn't exactly have much of a choice.'

There were a few moments of silence, during which Kaiba pulled himself back to his feet and flicked his gaze towards Mokuba. He too had been inconsolably hysterical for a while, but now he just sat there in an all consuming silence.

'Do you think they figured out a way of taking him back to his own time?' Kaiba folded his arms.

'That depends on what you think happened to our Mokuba in the process,' Tristan shrugged.

'It would be a pity if he died here.'

'Why, everyone else has,' Tristan placed a hand on his shoulder. 'You know the end is almost here, right?'

'I know.'

For a few long moments there was silence between them. Then the distant sound of rumbling reached their ears. Somewhere inside his mind he convinced himself it was just the normal sound of thunder, but he knew it wasn't true and when the sound came again, closer this time, it caused small bits of wall and ceiling to crumble around them. His eyes turned upwards as his hands balled into involuntary fists. This was really it. This was really then end and he was about to go out without saying how he really felt? No, he couldn't allow that. Even if it was the hardest thing he had to do, he had to do it now because he would never get another chance.

'Tristan I...'

'I know,' Tristan's voice was clam and self-assured.

'But you don't even know what I'm going to say,' he stared at him.

'Yes I do,' Tristan met his gaze, 'and I'm telling you now I know. I've always known. But I don't want to hear you say it. Not now.'

'Why not?'

'It does seem ridicules me saying that, knowing how many years I've waited for you to gain the courage to tell me; but these are my last five minutes of existence, if I hear those words now... It might be a relief for you, but it would be nothing but pain for me; please don't be that cruel.'

'Would you rather we just wait around in silence then?' Kaiba met his gaze as the ground beneath them started to shake.

'You mean would I rather just wait around for death?' Tristan shook his head. 'Are those my only options; five minutes of pain or five minutes of silence?'

'I don't see what else we can do.'

'We could talk,' Tristan's tone was strangely mute, 'like we used to when we were younger. Do you remember?'

'Of course.'

'I want us to talk Seto, I don't care what about. I want to pretend like the end isn't coming. Like our conversation could go on for hours and never come to an end. I want to talk, so when the end comes one of us is in the middle of a sentence and there are no last words. I want to talk Seto, I just want to talk.'


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60**

Somehow he'd managed to lose the monster in the maze of corridors, but he wasn't about to stop moving just yet, not until he knew he was safe at any rate. The passageway he was running down came to an abrupt stop at set of ceiling high double doors. His heart was pounding hard in his chest as he moved rapidly towards them and prayed with everything in him the doors were unlocked.

Shifting the position of the squishy little human in order to free his right arm, he reached towards the handle of one of the doors. As he felt the cold metal beneath his hand, several disjointed images flashed through his mind. It was enough to make him pull back in fear.

'I wish it wouldn't do that,' he placed his free hand over his eyes until the disjointed images stopped flashing, 'I really, really don't like it.'

A disgruntled gurgle from the little person he was holding chased away the last of the images. He found himself reaching for the door handle again, a little more hesitantly this time. There were no more flashing images and to his great relief the door swung open with very little effort. On the other side was a large room with a funny looking chair at one end. Just in front of this chair a sandy haired boy in a black and white shirt, stood over an unconscious body.

He found himself studying this boy for a moment, trying to figure out if there was anything familiar about him. There wasn't. Nor was there anything familiar about the body lying at his feet or the others piled together in the far corner of the room. A disappointed sigh almost made its way out of him when his eyes turned towards the room's final occupant. The boy knelt in the middle of the room, with neat brown hair, dressed in a well tailored black outfit, made his heart skip a beat. He didn't need anyone to tell him what his heart already knew; this was the person he'd been looking for.

'You're here,' the sound of the sandy haired boy's voice made him jump, 'and you have the baby with you, thank the Light.'

'Baby?' He frowned at the word. 'You mean the little squishy person?'

'Yeah...' the boy's face pulled with disappointment, 'I mean the little squishy person. Could you hand him over to me please?'

'Why, does it belong to you?' He cautiously approached the boy, not totally sure what to make of him.

'Not exactly.'

'What does that mean?'

'It means he's not mine, but he is me.'

'How can this squishy person be you,' he felt confused, 'you are you.'

'I would explain it to you, but I'm not totally sure you'd understand,' he shook his head, 'but I need you to give me the baby so I can make sure he's alright. I'm worried something might have hurt it.'

'Like the monster you mean?'

'Monster?'

'There's a monster chasing us or at least there was,' his gaze turned towards the doors behind him for a moment.

'The monster was chasing you?' The sandy haired boy sounded a little alarmed. 'Was he close behind?'

'He was, but we lost him somehow,' he tilted his head to one side. 'Who are you?'

'Really, there's a monster chasing you and you have time to be curious about who I am?' The sandy haired boy rolled his eyes.

'Am I not allowed to be?'

'That's not it.'

'So then why can't you tell me who you are?'

'Fine,' he gave an impatient sigh, 'my name is Crovell Lutoni. Now will you please give me the baby to me so I can make sure he's okay, before your monster friend shows up?'

'I don't want to let go of him,' he shook his head. 'I promised the squishy human I would return him to the person he's waiting for and I don't think you're that person.'

'How can you be so sure about that?'

'Because I am,' he jutted his chin out slightly, 'just like I know he's the one waiting for me,' he indicated towards the brown haired boy.

'Waiting for you?' Crovell frowned. 'Wait, do you know who he is?'

'No,' he shook his head, 'but I know he knows me, I can feel it in here,' he placed his right hand over his heart.

'I guess there really is no bond quite like that of a Mistress and her Win,' he smirked slightly. 'Okay, if you won't let me check the baby, could you at least get behind me? The monster will be here soon and I don't want either of you getting hurt, understand?'

'Okay,' he moved himself into a position behind Crovell.

The position gave him a better vantage point of the kneeling boy and from it he was able to examine the details of his face. Not that he really felt like he needed to, everything about it was familiar somehow; as though he'd done nothing but study the boy's face in the moments before his mind went blank.

'Why's he so sad?' The words bleated out of him before he could stop them.

'He thinks a close friend is dead,' Crovell's reply was mute.

'And are they?'

Crovell didn't reply, instead his gaze remained focused on the doors.

'He does know who I am, doesn't he?' As he spoke another fluttering of images moved through his mind, only this time they weren't so jumbled or daunting.

'Now's not the time,' Crovell hushed him, 'the monster's almost here, I can smell him.'

'Smell him?'

'Shh!'

A deep growl emanated from the dark passageway beyond the doors. His instincts made him wrap his arms protectively around the squishy human and back as far away as he could. As he did the monster made its way into the room.

'Hello father,' Crovell's voice was unnervingly calm.

'Father?' Shock moved through him as he began to wonder if he'd made a mistake trusting this boy.

Crovell did something with the weird blade-like contraption on his arm causing a large skeletal black dragon with red eyes appear out of nowhere. The appearance of this new beast caused the monster to stop in its tracks.

'Do you remember this father?' Crovell took half a step towards the monster. 'Or this,' a human like figure dressed in a strange costume of red and silver, with the handle of a sword visible on his back appeared. 'Or this?' Something else appeared, but his view was too obscured to make out what it was. 'They're all yours. This is your deck. This is the deck you used when you were human. When you were a duellist.'

The monster began to snarl, clearly unimpressed. The three monsters disappeared and were replaced by two human looking creatures. One was a female with bird like wings on her back and feathers running through her blonde hair. The other almost appeared to be two people.

'Joey,' the female creature moved towards him, 'Joey listen to me, this isn't you. This is not who you are. Please, you've got to remember.'

'Listen to her Joey,' the other creatures voice sounded like it was dual layered, 'she cares about you, we all do, she just wants you back.'

The monster continued to snarl and growl as it focused its attention on the female creature.

'Joey don't do this,' she took half a step back as the monster leapt at her. 'Joey I love you!'

Her scream caused the gleam of the monster's eyes softened. Its features slowly merged from that of the beast into those of a confused human. His body became limp and upon reaching the female creature he'd passed out into her arms. With great love and care she lowered his unconscious body to the floor.

'One little phrase,' Crovell's voice was strangely sad, 'who'd have thought it would be that simple.'

'He will be alright, won't he?' The female turned towards him.

'He will be soon enough, although by then I'll be gone.'

'What do you mean?'

Crovell didn't reply. Instead he caused both creatures to disappear before moving towards the unconscious human and placing something into his hands. There were a few long moments of silence, then Crovell began to emit a strange glow.

'We did it,' a smile of relief filled Crovell's face as he stared at his hand.

'Did what?'

'Changed everything,' he laughed. 'The timeline is being reset and I must return to find my new place within it. My life, my history, my memories, they're all being rewritten, I can feel it.'

'I don't understand, what does that mean?'

'It means we won.'

The light which surrounded Crovell's body became brighter until it completely engulfed him. Then, with one final eruption, he vanished into nothingness.


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61**

For a long time he found himself just staring at the spot Crovell had formally occupied. He didn't understand what had just happened. He didn't understand why it had happened. He also wasn't sure if he was supposed to care or not. Sighing heavily, he allowed his gaze to move towards the brown haired boy. He was still just knelt there, staring vacantly ahead.

'He's the one I've been looking for,' his voice was low as he glanced down at the squishy little human in his arms, 'he's really sad right now so he might not be able to help you right away, but when he's not sad anymore I'll make sure it's the first thing he does, okay?'

The squishy human made a few gurgling sounds and he took it to mean the little person was okay with his decision. He then gave a reassuring nod, more for his own benefit than the squishy human's, and made his way toward the brown haired boy. Once in front of him he knelt down and adjusted the way he was holding the little person in order to free up his right hand again. Without any hesitation he reached towards the brown haired boy's face and lightly traced his feature, before placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.

At first the brown haired boy didn't react. Then his eyes slowly blinked once, then again slightly faster, then a third time almost at normal speed. His blue eyes, which until now hadn't really registered anything, suddenly came alive, moving through states of confusion, curiosity and realisation.

'Tristan...?'

He was about to ask what _Tristan_ meant, when the brown haired boy threw his arms around his neck. The action made his stomach flutter and spike at the same time, before settling down into a good feeling. He was right; his important person did care about him. Closing his eyes slightly, he rested his head on the brown haired boy's shoulder.

'I found you, I knew I would.'

For some reason his words made the boy's whole body stiffen.

'Crovell said you were sad because you thought your friend was dead, but he wouldn't tell me if they really were or not.'

'Tristan...?' The brown haired boy pulled away from him, his face filled with confusion.

'What does that mean?'

'What...' his head quivered from side to side, 'what... what do you mean _what does that mean_?'

'I mean, what does Tristan mean,' he didn't like the look of pain appearing on the brown haired boy's face. 'Have I said something wrong?'

'Do you... do you know who you are?' The boy placed his hands on his shoulders.

'No.'

'Do you know who I am?'

'Someone important,' a grin pulled its way across his face.

'Okay, but do you know my name?'

'No.'

The brown haired boy took a sharp breath in, tightening the grip on his shoulders as he did.

'Do you... do you remember anything?'

'No.'

'Nothing at all?'

'No,' he shook his head. 'I'm sorry, please don't be sad.'

'This can't be happening,' the boy tightened his grip on his shoulders again and lowered his head, 'please tell me this isn't happening. I feel sick. How... how can this be happening?'

'I'm sorry...'

'I don't want you to be sorry,' his head shot up as he shook him slightly, 'I want you to remember. You can't do this to me. I can't lose you like this. Please.'

'I…' he shook his head as a bunch of disjointed images began flashing through his mind again. 'I can't,' he squeezed his eyes shut. 'I don't like it when it does that. It hurts my head. Make it stop.'

'When it does what?' The boy shook him again. 'Is it your memories? Are you remembering something? What?'

'Please, please, please, make it stop,' he felt himself withdrawing slightly. 'I don't like the way it flickers like that. Please make it stop.'

'No,' the boy's voice was firm, 'not if it means you're remembering something. Please, you have to put up with it. You have to remember.'

'You're hurting me,' his voice broke slightly as his eyes flicked open.

'I don't care,' the boy was digging his nails in now, 'you have to remember.'

'Seto please...'

'What did you say?' The boy cut him off before he could say anything else.

'You're hurting me,' his lower lip quivered, 'stop hurting me.'

'No, not till you tell me what you just said.'

'I... I don't remember. I... I want you to stop hurting me.'

As he spoke more images began flickering in front of him. Some were jumbled and fast and scary, but hidden amongst them were safer, slower more familiar ones. He still didn't know what any of it meant, but a part of him wished he did; more for the boy's sake than for his own.

'I know you're in there somewhere,' the boy's blue eyes were staring searchingly into his, 'you have to be. I just need to find a way of bringing you back out, but you have to help me. You have to allow yourself to remember.'

'I...'

'You have to, please.'

'Okay,' he nodded, before closing his eyes again and letting the flickering images wash over him.

As they moved through his mind more and more of them became slower and less scary. Bit by bit he found himself understanding what they meant and bit by bit he found his mind returning to something which resembled normality, until finally...

'You know the way you're carrying on Seto, anyone might think we were friends,' an amused smirk pulled across Tristan's face.

Almost instantly Kaiba started laughing. The sound of his laughter filled Tristan with more than a mild feeling of annoyance.

'The thought of us being friends isn't that funny you know, especially after the way you've just been carrying on.'

'You're wrong,' Kaiba shook his head as his laughter died down, 'it is funny.'

'Great, so I'm nothing but an object of amusement for you now?' Tristan gritted his teeth and turned his gaze away.

'No, you are a friend,' Kaiba's voice was strangely serious, 'and that's exactly why it's so funny.'

* * *

Joey groaned and slowly opened his eyes. For a few moments all he could make out were the blurred images of two people stood over him. It took him a few moments of blinking, but those images eventually settled into Tristan and Kaiba.

'What the hell are you two doing here?'

'We were hired to try and stop you from killing your own son Wheeler,' Kaiba folded his arms.

'I'm sorry what?' Joey felt his body bolt into an upright sitting position. 'Please tell me you were able to stop me.'

'Of course not, this is someone else's baby I'm holding right now,' Tristan rolled his eyes.

'Crovell,' he sighed in relief, before becoming aware of something in his right hand. 'What the…?' He stared down in confusion.

'Those are Mai and Yugi's soul cards,' Kaiba's voice was a cross between thoughtful and bored, 'the others are still in his deck.'

'Others?' Joey frowned. 'Wait, whose deck?'

'The Mokuba fake.'

'Mokuba fake?'

'You've got a lot of catching up to do, Wheeler,' Kaiba smirked. 'So are you going to summon the First now or what?'

'Summon her for what?'

'Let's see, where do we start,' Tristan cocked his head to one side, 'how about with freeing everyone trapped by the Light to Shadows card and then maybe reversing what's been done to the wolves.'

'Wow, I guess I really do have a lot of stuff to catch up on,' Joey scratched the back of his head.

'Look, I'm sure someone will be more than happy to explain everything to you afterwards,' Kaiba half turned away from him, 'but right now you need to summon the First and reverse all the damage that's been done like the good little dog you are.'

'Watch it with those dog comments Kaiba, I'm a wolf remember.'

'Whatever.'

'I hope you're not expecting your powers back for this.'

'Who said we wanted them back? They're the reason the Pure and Win had so much influence over us before, remember? Why would we want to go back to that?'

'I…'

'Look Wheeler, are you going to fix this mess or what?' Kaiba cut him off. 'Only I'm sure the others won't appreciate being stuck as duel monsters for much longer and, unlike you, I have better things to do than waste my time around here.'


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62**

'And are you sure there's nothing else you wanna tell me about?' Joey stared round at them all with an exasperated look on his face.

'No, I think we just about covered it,' Jay grinned.

'Oh wait,' a look of realisation crossed Yugi's face, 'there is the whole Téa in the hospital thing.'

'Téa's in the hospital?' Joey shook his head. 'Mann I've missed so much.'

'Not really,' a sly smile pulled across Ahna's face.

'In fact I'd say it's been a pretty average day,' Mai appeared to share her amusement.

'All this drama just because of you Crovell,' Joey stared down at his son. 'Are you going to make nothing simple for us?'

'As if life with you geeks around was ever simple anyway,' Kaiba rolled his eyes as he picked up his brother's still unconscious body. 'We're ready to leave now.'

'I'll drop you home,' Catilin bounced towards him, 'but...' she tilted her head to one side as she stared at Mokuba, 'do you think he's ever gonna wake up?'

'My brother is not dead and I refused to give up on him.'

'But the evil future Mokuba seemed to think he was,' she pulled a face, 'how do you know he wasn't telling the truth?'

'Because I saw our Mokuba in the future, remember Cat?' Mai's face filled with a wary smile. 'Plus Jo and Crovell did promise they'd do everything they could to get him back. I don't think they would have lied about that.'

'But their future doesn't exist anymore and he was there when it stopped existing. What if his spirit couldn't get back in time? What if he doesn't exist anymore?'

'Stop wishing him dead Catilin and take us home,' Kaiba glared at her.

'I'm sorry,' she lowered her head, 'I didn't mean to upset you.'

'I don't care, just take us home.'

* * *

'So you're pregnant, huh?' Joey smiled lovingly down at her as they lay in bed together. 'And just when were you planning to tell me?'

'Hey I only just found out myself you know,' Mai laughed. 'Who'd have thought my own daughter would be the one telling me though, that has to be a first.'

'But probably a completely normal occurrence for this group,' he shook his head in wonder. 'So how far gone are you?'

'About four weeks, I think.'

'Then we don't have much time.'

'For what?'

'To get married of course.'

'Joseph Wheeler, are you proposing to me? Because if you are, you're not making a very good job of it.'

'Does that mean you won't accept?'

'Ask me again when our daughter is born.'

'What?'

'You heard me.'

'But I don't want to wait that long.'

'Well tough. I am not getting married pregnant and I'm not getting engaged just because I am pregnant.'

'But Mai...'

'No buts Joey, I'm not going to change my mind on this one. When our daughter is born I'll think about it, but until then you're just going to have to wait.'

* * *

It had been nearly three days now and Mokuba still hadn't shown any signs of life. Despite Tristan's constant suggestions they move him to a hospital, Kaiba insisted on keeping him at home. What could a hospital do for his brother exactly? It's not as though they had special soul detecting equipment which could bring someone back from... wherever it was Mokuba's soul had been sent to. Kaiba gave a heavy sigh and studied his brother's features; he looked so peaceful, like he was just sleeping or something.

There was a sudden twitch of movement in Mokuba's face. It was quickly followed by a second and then a third which screwed the face up into a tormented frown.

'Mokuba?' Kaiba's voice was so dry and quiet it was barely audible.

The scream which came out of Mokuba as his eyes flicked open was deafening. Instantly Kaiba took hold of him by the shoulders and tried to calm him down.

'Mokuba, it's okay, you're home now.'

'Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop,' Mokuba crammed his hands over his ears and squeezed his eyes shut. 'Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop.'

'Mokuba, calm down, it's okay, it's over now, you're home, you're safe.'

'No, no, no,' Mokuba pulled away from him and stared at him in terror, 'you have to get away from me. I'm evil. A gutless monster. You have to get away from me before I hurt you.'

'Mokuba...' he found himself gawking at him.

'I'm a monster. A heartless demon. I'll hurt you. I'll hurt everybody. You have to get away from me. You have to stay away from me. Everyone does. Everyone has to stay away.'

'Mokuba you are not a monster,' Kaiba took hold of his shoulders again, 'and you're not going to become a monster. Crovell saved Wheeler's life, so that future you went to doesn't exist anymore. You're not a monster Mokuba, calm down.'

'No, no, no,' Mokuba began pulling at his hair. 'I saw it. I saw what I did. I saw everything. The pain. The anguish. The suffering. I hurt people and I enjoyed it. I'm a monster. A heartless, gutless, soulless monster. Stay away from me,' he tore at Kaiba's fingers, in an attempt to prise him off. 'Get away from me. Stay away from me.'

'I won't do that Mokuba,' he tightened his grip, 'I can't do that. You're my brother and I love you. I know you've been through hell, but it's okay, we'll get you help. We'll get you all the help you need to get over what you've been through. It will be okay, you'll see.'

'No, no, no, no, no,' his voice rose with hysteria, 'people can't come near me. I don't want anyone near me. I'm evil, don't you get it? I hurt people, everyone needs to stay away.'

'Mokuba...'

'I said I hurt people,' Mokuba grabbed hold of Kaiba's wrists and sent a static shockwave of pain up his arms, 'so stay away from me.'

'Mokuba...' Kaiba felt a shiver of fear move through him as the pain his brother was causing forced him to pull his arms away.

'Get out,' Mokuba glared at him.

'No, Mokuba I...'

'I said get out,' Mokuba flicked an energy ball into his hand. 'Get out, get out, get out, get out.'

'Mokuba...?'

'Get out.'

He threw the energy ball at Kaiba which exploded like a bolt of pain against his chest. The second it had connected, Mokuba had flick summoned another energy ball into his hand. With little else he could do, Kaiba got to his feet and began backing out of the room.

'That's right, that's right, stay away from me, I'm evil,' Mokuba's head moved in an erratic nodding like movement. 'Get out and stay away.'

'I'll leave for now Mokuba,' Kaiba kept his voice as calm as possible, 'but I'm not giving up on you. You're just freaked out and scared right now, but that's okay, I'll help you get over this. Do you hear me Mokuba; I'll help you, because you're my brother.'

End.


End file.
